Female Identity-Building Framed By Male Narration:A Feminist Reading Of Iris Murdoch’s The Black Prince

Iris Murdoch (1919-1999), a renowned figure in the history of postwar British literature, is acclaimed as the most versatile and prolific female writer since Charles Dickens with thirty-eight works published altogether. Her novels have aroused more and more scholars’attention since1996with representative work The Black Prince awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Previous studies on The Black Prince mainly focus on its narrative techniques, philosophical views, artistic views, etc.. However, studies on Murdoch’s feminist ideas are limited, especially the perspective concerning female identity-building under male narration. Therefore, systematic and deep research related to this field will be carried out in this thesis.It begins with the perspective of using male narration as the first narrator, and analyses the reason hidden behind Murdoch’s preference of male narrator. Then the main female characters’identity crisis will be further analyzed in The Black Prince. Facing crisis, three married women choose diversified struggles. Finally, enlightenment of women’s identity-building are pointed out. Murdoch highlights women’s consciousness of independence, education and courage to express themselves. With systematic and all-around analysis, Murdoch’s feminist thoughts can be unveiled to the reader, especially her consideration on the issue of women’s plights, which helps us better understand Murdoch and her works.