Sartrean Existentialism In The Philosophical Fiction Of Iris Murdoch

Murdoch, Dame Iris Jean (1919-1999) and Jean-Paul (1905-1980) Sartre areknown as two cultural giants of the twentieth century who have been involved in theareas of both philosophy and literature. Murdoch values literature as a seriousbusiness that teaches as well as entertains. It can be argued that in the history ofEnglish literature there is perhaps not a novelist who more adequately brokers themarriage of literature and philosophy than Murdoch. Her unique feature in terms ofpost-War British writing was that she successfully combines a career as a philosopherwith that of writing fiction. Because of the double identity as a novelist and aphilosopher, she prefers to use literature as her primary and most effective tool forexpounding her own ideas on philosophy and ethics in her works by adequatelycombining the literary narrative of a great story with her serious philosophicalthinking. Her philosophical fiction, spanning40years, depicts a broad range ofcharacters’ endeavors to find the true meaning of life. The novels have become avisual deduction of her philosophical thinking, which is a main feature of herphilosophical fiction. As an author of26novels, she also publishes manyphilosophical works including: Sartre: Romantic Rationalist, The Sovereignty of Good,Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals, and so on. Similarly, Sartre sets out to conquer theworld with his pen. Some critics claim that as an existentialist, Sartre is the greatestphilosopher of the twentieth century. More importantly, he is not only a greatphilosopher of France, but also a brilliant writer, a literary critic and a social activistof the twentieth century. As a writer, Sartre expresses his philosophical ideas inliterary works, which makes the philosophical thinking as a main feature in his works.As a famous existentialist, besides two major works of philosophy and ten volumes ofessays, he also publishes a lot of literary works including four novels, a dozen plays and screenplays, a volume of stories and so on. From the writing practice of bothMurdoch and Sartre, it can be seen that just as what Murdoch argues, literature andphilosophy can be organically connected. Literature is not only a form ofcommunication, but it also can take over some of the tasks formerly performed byphilosophy. In this respect, Murdoch has set a good example.The philosophical fiction of Murdoch has been significantly influenced bySartrean existentialism. As early as in1940, she became acquainted with Sartre andwas immediately interested in Sartre’s philosophy. Moreover, she had been creatingthe works in the period exactly when Sartrean existentialism was flourishing.Murdoch herself also acknowledges Sartre’s impact on her. Her first book is amonograph called Sartre: Romantic Rationalist specifically on the research of Sartre.She is the first person in the history of English literature who introduces Sartreanexistentialism into the British literary world. To some degree, many themes in herphilosophical fiction are reminiscent of the Sartrean account. There are always manycharacters who hold different philosophical ideas in her fiction, and with thedevelopment of the plot, the relationship between the characters changes considerably.This is a conspicuous feature of her novels.This dissertation, on the basis of the current achievements in the research, isintended to make a deep and systematic exploration of Sartrean existentialism inMurdoch’s philosophical fiction. More specifically, it is concerned with how certainconceptual parallels in Sartrean existentialism and Murdoch’s moral philosophy findtheir expression in Murdoch’s philosophical fiction. The dissertation will focus on“death of God”，“quest for freedom”，“existential anguish” and “pursuit ofgoodness” in Murdoch’s philosophical fiction. The dissertation both examines theultimate ideal of Sartrean existentialism of “living a meaningful life” and discussesMurdoch’s advocacy of love and goodness as a way of realizing the ideal.Besides introduction and conclusion, this dissertation consists of four chapters.The Introduction falls into four parts. First, it points out the argument andsignificance of the study. Second, it makes a critical survey of Iris Murdoch’sphilosophical fiction. Third, it examines the definition of Sartrean existentialism related to Murdoch’s works. Finally, it presents the purpose and organization of thedissertation.Chapter one examines Murdoch’s conception of religion in the text of The Timeof the Angels. The chapter holds the point that, similar to Sartre, Murdoch alsobelieves that there is no traditional God. Though, she is an atheist, she conspicuouslylikes to create philosophical novels which evidently are discussing the religiousproblems. The chapter points out that Murdoch, in essence, is a writer whoremarkably pays much attention to religion. She thinks that it is a very dangerousthing if a person loses his religious faith. She emphasizes that she only does notbelieve in the traditional God, but there is her own God in her inner world. Her God isgoodness and love. This means that man can become his own God if he achievesgoodness and love. In this respect, Murdoch reflects Sartre’s conception of religionthat man’s desire is to become his own God. Murdoch asserts that though we can loseGod, we cannot give up goodness and love. She even calls her self ‘neo-Christian.’This notion is perfectly expressed in her novels, such as The Time of the Angels, TheBell and so on.Chapter two focuses on the perception of freedom, one of the main ideas inSartrean existentialism, in Murdoch’s Under the Net. Sartre’s idea of freedomparticularly concerns the freedom of one’s spirit and mind. He contends that we arethrown into existence first without a predetermined nature and only later do weconstruct our nature or essence through our actions. Murdoch explores this theme innearly all her philosophical fiction. She agrees with Sartre that man is doomed to befree. In addition, she originally gives some fresh meaning to the concept of freedom.She thinks that freedom is “seeing the reality clearly.” It is a process of spiritualexperience of which Murdoch lays emphasis on the importance of consciousness, theability to reflect on itself and to avoid becoming immersed in the world of objects. InUnder the Net, the task is perfectly fulfilled through the action of the male protagonist,Jake Donaghue.Chapter three discusses the theme of existential anguish in the novel TheUnicorn. This theme frequently appears in Murdoch’s philosophical fiction. Concerning this topic, Murdoch and Sartre share the same belief that “anguish is auniversal element of life.” In Murdoch’s philosophical fiction, she mainly discussesthe inner anguish, i.e. moral anguish of people. Moral anguish results from innerchoice to suffer; it presents a kind of paradox. On the one hand, the sufferer frommoral guilt has a natural desire to be free; on the other hand, he, by meditation,continues to accept and deepen his suffering. According to Sartre, man can not escapefrom existential anguish. In the novel The Unicorn, the heroine Hannah Grean-smith,the beautiful and calm prisoner, quietly bears the anguish without any objection. Herunusual experience of anguish makes her cover a mystery color in other people’s eyeswhich indiscernibly occupies their imaginary space. In her novel, Murdoch disclosesthe author’s contradictory thoughts that human beings think that they can freely andreasonably control their lives and their action, but in essence, they are controlled bytheir sub-consciousness, as well as many other social forces and other human powers.Chapter four studies the theme of quest for moral goodness in the novel The Niceand the Good. As many critics point out, Sartre is a moralist who believes that,because of ‘the death of God’, man loses “the priori table of values”. Therefore, manis absolutely responsible not only for what he does but also for what he is. Murdoch’smoral scheme is closely related to Sartre’s ideas. Some critics claim that Murdoch’sresponses to moral life arise from her contact with Sartrean existentialism. Her workscan be often seen as a revision of Sartre’s philosophy. According to Murdoch, manshould focus his attention on certain values, such as love and goodness, which isconsistent with the Sartre’s theory of moral responsibility.The Conclusion section reiterates the argument of the dissertation. Murdoch’snovels have been greatly influenced by Sartrean existentialism. Sartreanexistentialism has become an ineradicable part in Murdoch’s ideas. Just like Sartre,she always insists that the foundation and the threshold of her whole philosophy isattention to man’s existence and morality. The distinctive theme of her philosophicalfiction is to quest for love and goodness.