"It was partly at the thought of meeting Julie, partly at something far more mysterious, the sense that I was now deep in the strangest maze in Europe. Now I really was Theseus; somewhere in the darkness Ariadne waited; and perhaps the Minotaur." (Fowles, p. 313)
Let's break this down shall we? Pagination is from the copy the bookstore had (the white cover with the woman stripping, or getting dressed I can't tell for sure, in the O in Fowles, it's always disturbed me a little.)
"It was partly at the thought of meeting Julie," It being the pounding of his heart faster than it should. I left that sentence out because I didn't find it necessary. Usually when one's heart races at the thought of meeting someone, there is some strong emotional attachment between the people. This attachment may be one-sided, but it is there. Now we all know that Nicholas falls in love with Julie (or whatever her real name is), and it probably started here, this is one of the first signs that he admits to.
"partly at something far more mysterious, the sense that I was now deep in the strangest maze in Europe." Most of this is obvious, mazes are by nature mysterious, especially when we weren't fully aware that we're entering into one. Mazes mesmerize us not only because of their complexity, but also that we do not know what we will find within the maze. This being a metaphorical maze makes it that much harder. You can't go back and try a different branch if you find yourself at a dead end, you are completely reliant on the people who are creating the maze around you to guide you though it. I once went through a physical maze in a manner similar to the metaphorical maze. I was at a church camp, and an area was set aside and there were several balls placed within the area in random locations. The person going through the course was blindfolded. Each person had a partner who gave them directions through the course. If you stepped on a ball you would die and have to start over from the beginning. About six people were on the course at one time, and there was a counsellor walking about in the course being the voice of the Devil and would try to get us to step on the balls. When one partner successfully completed the course the roles would reverse. The world is full of voices, and we have to learn to listen to the right one. We can't just use the voice of the other guides, their partners are in different locations, and so their information doesn't apply. It has to be the voice that is aimed at you.
"Now I really was Theseus;"As we discussed when we were covering the middles, we are our own heroes. It wasn't just right then that he was Theseus, he always was, he just wasn't aware of it. He could have given the name of any hero he wanted, but it would be the same. He is the hero of his story, he just has to realize it. We all have to realize that we are the heroes. We can't wait for someone to be our hero.
"somewhere in the darkness Ariadne waited;" Ariadne of course referring to Julie of course. If we are the heroes of our stories, it makes sense that the people we meet and interact with are the other characters of our story. From reading Calasso, we know that things didn't work out between Theseus and Ariadne, which lead up to her being ditched on a beach somewhere to be found by Dionysus. As I still haven't actually finished The Magus, I don't know if we are quite that bad to Julie, but I think that we are truly that bad to Nicholas.
"and perhaps the Minotaur." All good stories require a protagonist (hero), and an antagonist (bad guy). The Minotaur is Theseus's, but who is Nicholas's antagonist? It seems to be Conchis, but I have no clear idea if that is true. Conchis seems to actually be trying to help Nicholas by opening his eyes to the reality that he carries mythology around with him. By reading the book, in part or in whole, we get the same realization, without the high price that Nicholas payed.
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