Introduction

Introduction The connection between morality and art can be pursued in many ways. The aim of this text is to provide a closer look at how Iris Murdoch makes this kind of connection. And it should be noted that Murdoch rarely speaks about one of the two notions without omitting the other. More concretely, this text is going to deal with the issue of moral identity of a writer as reflected in Murdoch’s novel The Black Prince , which was written in 1973 and which won the Whitbread Prize. Basically, this issue consists of three parts: first, the general notions of Murdoch’s ethics will be analysed, i.e. ‘subjectivity,’ ‘realism’ and ‘descriptivity’; then, more specifically, the link between the content of the novel and ethical notions such as truth, good and evil, g/God, love, happiness, virtue, justice, or guilt will be dealt with; and then, the relationship between ethics and aesthetics will be pursued focusing on such issues as ‘metafiction,’ the genre of tragedy and the use of symbol. As far as Murdoch’s general views on morality are concerned, it must be mentioned that she considers the use of language to be necessarily subjective; consequently, even works of art are inherently subjective. This thesis is reflected in the novel as Bradley Pearson, the main hero, speaks about present events without the knowledge of the future, although the novel is written in the future compared to the present of the hero. By this, not only the knowledge of what is to come remains hidden but also the criticism of the actual author of the book, i.e. Murdoch. Also, Murdoch is renown for her search for truth, and her intention to describe the world as it is without the distortion of fantasy; and both these aspects contribute to create what A.S. Byatt calls ‘realism.’ This thesis of Byatt includes all the aspects when truth is pursued either by Bradley, or Murdoch herself in the novel. As far as Bradley is concerned, he expresses many times in the novel that art, i.e. his art as well, should aim at searching truth however frustrating this search may be. Moreover, Iris Murdoch is said to be one of the most prominent embodiments of the descriptive approach in ethics, and this ethical approach projects itself into Murdoch’s literary works. In this sense, the descriptivity is reflected not only in the descriptive style, but also in Murdoch’s treatment of the characters in the novel who can behave freely making mistakes, too. In addition, concrete moral issues are reflected in the novel as well. Mainly, these are notions alluding to the Platonic ethics, notions such as truth, virtue or goodness; here, Murdoch expresses her belief that good art should aim at searching truth and goodness, which is in tune with Plato. The notion of God, however, avoids traditional explanations of e.g. Christian faith as the religious concept Bradley presents is concerned with the personality of the artist who takes responsibility for his actions and should focus on searching goodness with no regard for any kind of external God. As far as the connection between ethics and aesthetics is concerned, first, the phenomenon of ‘metafiction’ will be pursued focusing on the nature of the relationship between Bradley and the addressee of the book which Bradley is writing, considering it to be his masterpiece. Also, most important events are analysed with regard to such notions of the genre of tragedy as climax or peripety . Finally, the novel includes use of symbol as the book of Hamlet serves as matter for discussion led by the characters in the novel; and this symbol conveys many allusions e.g. as a tragedy or as a masterpiece of form. 2 1. A Short Biography of Iris Murdoch Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919 of Anglo-Irish parents. She studied Classical languages, ancient history and philosophy at Somerville College in Oxford (between 1938 and 1942) and philosophy at Newnham College in Cambridge (between 1947 and 1948). Her first major published work Sartre: Romantic Rationalist appeared in 1953. In 1954, her first novel Under the Net was published. She married John Bayley, teacher and critic, in 1956. Apart from other jobs, Murdoch was employed as an Assistant Principal at the Treasury and a lecturer at Royal College of Art in London (Conradi xv). She was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1975 and was awarded the C.B.E. in 1976 (1). The works of Iris Murdoch can be subdivided into novels, articles and works dealing with literary aesthetics, and also several philosophical works. She made her debut as novelist with Under the Net (1954), whose protagonist is a Sartrean hero. A Severed Head (1961) exploited Jungian theories of archetypes. The novel was turned into a play with the help of J.B. Priestley and later into a film (1971). It analyzes Freud's theories about male sexuality. The Bell (1958) depicts an Anglican religious community in Gloucestershire. Bruno’s Dream (1969) is a novel about dying and A Word Child (1975) deals with the moral dilemmas of love and hate, humility and power, self-obsession and attention (Franková 15). Among the prizes won by Murdoch are the Whitbread Prize for The Sacred and Profane Love Machine (1974) and the Booker Prize for The Sea, the Sea (1978). Often, Murdoch uses fantasy and Gothic elements, but her characters are realistically portrayed in their attempts to find meaning to their lives in extraordinary situations. Many of her novels have a religious or philosophical theme, but she avoided clear political statements (Wood 2). 3 Among her philosophical works are The Sovereignty of Good (1970), The Fire and the Sun: Why Plato Banished the Artist (1977) and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals (1983, 1993). Moreover, in 1980 she wrote an unpublished Platonic Dialogue , and in 1997 Existentialists and Mystics was published (ed. Peter Conradi), which is a collection of Murdoch’s essays on modern Platonism, Existentialism, and such figures as T.S. Eliot, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, and Elias Canetti. Among the topics and issues are also the sublime, the concept of love, and the role of literature in curing the ills of philosophy. 2. The Black Prince : Possible Readings The Black Prince was published in 1973. The title carries the connotation of soldierly bravery commonly attributed to Edward, Prince of Wales, who was the eldest son of Edward III (1330-1376) and . Although the figure of the Black Prince is a notorious example of medieval chivalry, the connection between him and the hero of the novel is not completely clear. The clearest common denominator might be the early death of both of them; despite that, however, it seems that the link consists merely in the parallel between the initial letters of the name of Bradley Pearson, the hero of the novel, and those of the Black Prince. At the same time, however, this novel can be read as alluding ambiguously, and ironically, to Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the character of Bradley Pearson, and also through some of the literary features of the novel, e.g. the tragic development of the plot and the occurence of suicide. Although the author of this text is quite sceptical to Murdoch using such kind of thematic formalism, Peter J. Conradi claims that the Shakespearean phenomenon is a major aspect of the novel: according to Conradi, the novel keeps up a running commentary about Hamlet and its characters are mainly writers or readers (Conradi 185). 4 The Black Prince can have a biblical reading, too. Bradley Pearson is punished for something he did not commit, and this aspect of the novel seems to allude to the biblical story of redemption by sacrifice. Despite that kind of similarity, Bradley himself claims several times that the reason why he accepts the punishment is not religious in the traditional sense but moral and aesthetic (19). His only religion or religious feeling is closely linked to his artistic activity as everything except art is subordinate to art for him. Another possible way of reading the novel is by seeing the two major characters as a dichotomy of ‘the artist’ and ‘the saint’ in the Platonic sense (Conradi; Franková). This idea will be dealt with later in a separate chapter. What is needed so far is the fact that the Platonic tradition puts ‘the writer’ morally below ‘the saint’ as the ‘saint’ figure is treated as the Platonic man questing for the good, the real and the truth (Franková 31) while ‘the artist’ is presented as the creator of works containing mere fantasy (ibid.). 3. Murdoch’s Characterization of Morality: Subjectivity, Realism, and Descriptivity According to Peter Lamarque, morality is an inherent part of literary aesthetics. He says: Literary aesthetics is that branch of the theory of literature which is (a) distinctively philosophical and which (b) focuses attention on those aspects of literary works in virtue of which they are works of art… Aesthetics, as a philosophical enquiry, is concerned with analysing the very concept of art, what art is , the special attention it commands in human lives, the judgements and evaluations that relate to it, the links between art and morality and truth, as well as such elusive notions as beauty and taste. (Lamarque 1) As far as Murdoch’s view of morality is concerned, she often combines ethical and aesthetic aspects to explain it. This fact should not be considered surprising as her own 5 personality is a combination of a philosopher and writer. She says: “[…] one cannot avoid value judgements.

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