Theme Of Ethics In Iris Murdoch's The Black Prince

Iris Murdoch(1919-1999)is one of the famous British philosophers and novelists in the 20 th century.She has published 26 novels,5 philosophical works and a collection of poems in her creative career.She has won the world?s reputation in her career.Her work has the strong story and profound ethical philosophy.The novel The Black Prince won James Tate Black Award for its unique narrative structure and profound esoteric ideology.Most of Murdoch?s works deeply reflect the relationship between literature and personal and family and social ethics.This thesis analyzes Iris Murdoch?s novel The Black Prince from the perspective of ethical literary criticism.First,this thesis analyzes the two main characters Bradley and Julian from the perspective of personal ethics.Both of them ignore the objective world at the very beginning,gradually they pay attention to the existence of others and the external world,and at last they abandon self-concern and the self is finally perfected.Second,from the perspective of family ethics,this thesis analyzes the alienation within the two families: the Arnolds and the Saxes.It focuses on Rachel?s struggle against her husband Arnold and Pricilla?s compromise with her husband Roger.The males of both families are driven by the animal factors to make ethical mistakes,but the women in both families have different attitudes.Rachel accepts the control of rational will and dares to resist against men,while Pricilla makes another ethical choice,which reflects the author?s strong desire to establish an equal marriage ethical relationship.Third,from the perspective of social ethics,this thesis explores the social reality of Francis and Christian.In the novel,the kindness,courage,and strong willpower of Francis is difficult to take root in British society and he is marginalized by society.But Christian is another case.With her rational will and morality,and with her own efforts and perseverance,Christian goes to the center,wins respect,and shows ethical behavior that is appreciated.Finally,through analyzing specific characters and events in The Black Prince,this thesis concludes that Iris Murdoch?s novels always contain ethical themes,and The Black Prince is no exception.Through the explanation of personal ethics,family ethics and social ethics in the novel,we can deeply understand the moral teachings and moral warnings of literary works for society and readers.Her novels reflect modern people?s crisis in survival and belief in society,and also show Murdoch?s deep concern for people?s living conditions.Murdoch warns us that in order to promote the harmonious development of society,we must establish correct moral values.