A Feminist-Narratological Study Of Iris Murdoch’s Under The Net

Best known for her novels about good and evil, morality, sexual relationships, andthe power of unconsciousness, Irish-born British writer Iris Murdoch is also noted forthe first-person male narrators in her novels. Under the Net is her first published novelwith an arresting first-person male narrator. It is her first attempt to use first-personmale narrator in her novel, which shows a great influence on her later works. The storyis told in a confessional way by a young male narrator James Donahue, known as Jake,who is a feckless, restless, penniless anti-hero on a quest to find out the meaning of hislife and to make sure what he thinks, who he loves, and where his life is heading.Everything that happens in the story is narrated by Jake. As an influential female writerin the twentieth century, Murdoch’s use of first-person male narrator throws her into acritical dispute of whether she is a puppet of patriarchal society or not.This thesis is a feminist-narratological study of the novel. In the twentieth centuryliterary criticism, feminist narratology is an eclectic theory which links social identityand narrative form. It is a conjunction of social and rhetorical properties. In this thesis,the theories of Susan Lanser and other feminist narratologists are used to analyze thesocial and rhetorical aspects of the novel for a better understanding of the writer whoseconcerns are not on the dispute of male and female problem but on the overall livingcondition of the human beings.The thesis is divided into five parts: Introduction, Chapter One, Chapter Two,Chapter Three and Conclusion. Introduction includes a brief summary of Iris Murdoch’slife and works, an introduction of Under the Net, some research fruit about this novel, abrief introduction of the feminist narratology, and how does this thesis use feministnarratology to analyze the novel.In Chapter One, the attention is directed to the use of male personal voice in thenovel. Firstly, there is a discussion about feminist narratological definition of personalvoice. Then, the protagonist and narrator Jake’s weak and untrustworthy personal voice is analyzed in contrast with women’s voices, which are active, self-expressive,independent, powerful, challenging and authoritative. From this, it is easy to notice thatin the novel females are not inferior to males either in the narrative aspect or in thesocial position aspect.Based on the discussion of the use of male personal voice and women’s voices inthe novel, Chapter Two focuses on Jake’s transfer of narrative authority. In the story,Jake transfers the narrative authority to other characters without the consideration ofgender. His transfer of authority can be noticed through his self-abasement, thecomment of other characters in direct speech, and the paradoxical paralipsis in hisnarration. These narrative devices not only make him an unreliable narrator but alsofacilitate his transfer of authority.Chapter Three is a deeper analysis of cross-gender writing. The discussion of theopinions on women’s writing, especially on the cross-gender writing is followed byMurdoch’s own explanation on cross-gender writing. Besides, the analysis ofMurdoch’s artistic concerns in the novel is to reinforce the argument of this thesis and tofurther prove that Murdoch’s artistic concern is the living condition of human beingsand she is neither a feminist writer nor a slave of patriarchy.The conclusion offers a brief summary of the major arguments of the thesis andan earnest reminder of reading for the author’s true concern for the good and evilmorality and the overall living condition of the human beings, rather than the issue ofmale and female difference.