Mysticism and Moral Conflict in Iris Murdoch’s The Bell: A Study of Human Nature and the Quest for the Good
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48047/csmhbe52Keywords:
Eros and Agape, Spiritual Growth, Good and Evil, Existentialism, Self-Deception, Tradition and Neurosis, Impartiality and JusticeAbstract
This article discusses the nature of mysticism in Iris Murdoch’s The Bell in relation to ethics and the difficulties of human nature. Murdoch’s fascination with mysticism plays a key role in her exploration of themes such as love, morality and the search for the Good. Drawing from a close reading of the novel, this study explores the ethical concerns at the center of Michael Meade’s moral trials in negotiating the tension between baser eros more corporeal, manipulative forms of love and a more idealized agape that is more abstract, pure forms of love.
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References
Ahmed, Sara. The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Routledge, 2004.
Antonaccio, Maria. Picturing the Human: The Moral Thought of Iris Murdoch. Oxford UP, 2000.
Dipple, Elizabeth. Iris Murdoch: Work for the Spirit. Methuen, 1982.
Gordon, David J. Iris Murdoch’s Fables of Unselfing. University of Missouri Press, 1995.
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