Iris Murdoch’s Moral Philosophy Of Love In The Black Prince

Iris Murdoch(1919–1999)is a prominent philosophical novelist in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century and widely regarded as the most intelligent British female writer since George Eliot(1819–1880).Her work is characterized by rich storytelling and profound philosophical ideas.Her novel The Black Prince: A Celebration of Love(1973),one of her most popular and abstruse novels,once won the James Tait Black Award for its innovative narrative structure and extremely esoteric philosophical ideas.This novel tells the protagonist Bradley Pearson’s moral pilgrimage and love ascesis,which is also a representation of Murdoch’ s unique insights of art and philosophy.Based on Iris Murdoch’s theory of moral philosophy,this thesis examines the recurring themes of love and salvation that flow throughout Murdoch’s work by focusing on the protagonist’s love story.This thesis begins with a systematic overview and introduction of Iris Murdoch’s moral philosophy of love and then analyzes the protagonist Bradley Pearson’s moral pilgrimage from “low Eros” to “high Eros” in terms of Murdoch’s ethics of love.Bradley appears to be a depressed writer at the beginning of the story,who is fogged under the “low Eros” and blinded from the pursuit of goodness and love.He fails to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities as a brother,neither can he reconcile his relationship with his ex-wife.In that way,Bradley is overwhelmed by extreme egotism and prejudice towards the other.Then,the thesis explores how Bradley,enlightened by Julian’s pure and selfless love,is released from anxiety and possessive.His “low Eros” sublimates to “high Eros”,which frees him to respect and attend to the other.He finally embraces the “unselfing” and achieves his pursuit of art.By investigating Bradley’s sublimation from “low Eros” to “high Eros”from the perspective of art and morality,self and the other,love and salvation,this thesis presents Murdoch’s unique philosophical insights on goodness,art and Eros.By adopting Murdoch’s own moral philosophy to the interpretation of her novel The Black Prince and focusing on her distinctive perspective of Eros,this paper attempts to shed light on the way in which individuals love and live in the modern society and offer a new perspective for the study of post-war British literature.