Introduction chapter I. The Philosophy of Existentialism in the Early Novels of Iris Murdoch

Theme: Philosophy of existentialism the works writen by Iris Murdoch

CONTENTS

Introduction …………………………………………………………..2
Chapter I. The Philosophy of Existentialism in the Early Novels of Iris Murdoch ………………………………………………………….5
1.1 Tragicomedy, irony and the image of death in the novels of the 60s and 70s ………………………………………………………………...5
1.2 "Two-faced Eros" by Plato in Murdoch's novels of the 60s and 70s ………………………………………………………………………..11
Chapter II. Platonic ideas in Murdoch's novels of the 70s ………18
2.1 70s - the heyday of creativity Iris Murdoch: Platonic ideas with enduring ideas of the philosophy of existentialism ………………….18
2.2 Mythological and cultural allusions in the novels of Iris Murdoch ………………………………………………………………………..25
Conclusion …………………………………………………………..28
Bibliography ………………………………………………………...31
Introduction
Actuality of the theme. Iris Murdoch is one of the complex figures in post-war English literature. Serious critics are alarmed by the fecundity of this author, the repetition of motives and conflicts (for example, the image of a hero obsessed with a sudden flash of feeling), interest in people's unnatural desires. But in his best works, Murdoch is at the level of modern prose, psychologically rich, reflecting the complex relationship of the individual with the world. The literary work of Iris Murdoch began as a hobby, the first novel appeared in 1954, when she was 35 years old. Which, however, was almost the norm for English literature of the 50s and 60s: William Golding began writing at 45, John Fowles at 37.
The coincidence or non-coincidence of the character's behavior with the reader's reaction involved in empathy "I would be in his / her place" can determine the genre nature of the works. There are works, and they are especially often recommended to the younger generation, where the plot allows the reader to constantly marvel at the reactions of the hero and thus prepare for life through the lessons of "this is what I would do." The novels of Iris Murdoch are clearly not one of them. There are no less didactic ones, although from the point of view of the plot they are built according to the opposite principle - “I would have acted differently in his / her place”. These include "romance", standard women's novels. A typical "romance" has a simple plot: She is in a state of loss; HE appears on the stage, a man worthy in all respects, but his reaction is not unambiguous; She tries to interpret what she sees as indifference (coldness), hostility, and is mistaken, as a result they are separated (emotionally separated); She suffers, but circumstances, sometimes random, positively resolve the main question: “Does she love or does not love?”, Which is successfully confirmed by Their rapprochement: She finds herself. The scheme of "romance" necessarily involves overcoming some difficulty in order to achieve a happy ending. The laws of this genre include a certain scheme of reading "romance", also based on the difficulty that determines the transition from one type of perception to another. At the first stage of reading (in the plot it corresponds to the time before the barrier between the heroine and the hero) the reader "enters" the work, puts herself in the place of the heroine. The type of reading based on identifying oneself with the object of experience does not imply an independent perception of other characters, and the reader looks at the hero through the eyes of her heroine, inevitably agrees with the interpretation of the actions and words of the hero, which, according to the law of the genre, necessarily leads to a barrier or aggravates it.
The same barrier very soon gives rise to a conflict between the reader and the heroine. The mechanism that causes this conflict is very simple: to agree with the heroine means to deprive her of a happy ending, and herself of the pleasure of reading, since the line of behavior chosen by the heroine does not imply an imminent happiness. At the same time, in order to feel the unacceptability of the positions of the heroine, one does not have to be wiser than her, it is enough to wish her well. A distance arises between the “I” of the reader and the “I” of the heroine, which allows one to evaluate the positions of the heroine, i.e., to interpret interpretations. Thus, the plot mechanism causes changes in the type of reading - empathy changes to understanding and "romance" fulfills its didactic purpose - it contributes to the acquisition by readers of the skills of understanding what they themselves encounter in their everyday life.
The purpose and tasks of the course work. The purpose of the work is to analyze the philosophical works of Iris Mudroch and to provide general information about them. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set:
- To reveal Iris Mudroch, a great philosopher and the special world of his works
- To study the personal life of the author and his relationship to the works of his life
- To study the literary activity of Iris Mudroch, to analyze it, to draw the necessary conclusions. To achieve this goal, we considered it necessary to study several works of the poet.
The object of the course work: artistic and scientific works of Iris Mudroch
Research methods. Comparative and stylistic methods were used in this qualification work.
Theoretical and practical importance of course work. The result of the qualification work may be necessary in the study of the specific features of the works of Iris Mudroch in the philosophical and literary comparative analysis.