Iris Murdoch’s The Black Prince as a Representation of Our Current Condition


Yılmaz V. B.

4th International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities, Skopje, Macedonia, 12 June 2021, vol.1, no.1, pp.156

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • Volume: 1
  • City: Skopje
  • Country: Macedonia
  • Page Numbers: pp.156
  • Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Affiliated: No

Abstract

One of the most prominent figures in British literature, Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) has left an indelible stamp on world literature with her philosophically enriched novels such as The Sacred and Profane Love Machine (1974), A Word Child (1975), or Henry and Cato (1976). Yet, her novel The Black Prince (1973) has been accepted as her most applauded one. The novel, which is certainly marked by postmodern elements, is about Bradley Pearson, an ageing writer who falls in love with a young woman. In the middle of his solitary existence, he becomes suffocated by various events and people who try to occupy his personal space. This study is going to analyze Murdoch’s The Black Prince in terms of its resemblance to our current condition under the stress of pandemic. Similar to Bradley’s instant encounter with several problems the solutions to which he does not know, we came face to face with the problem that we don’t know how to react to. However, similar to Bradley, who has to find some kinds of answers to the questions bothering him, we are expected to fight back and survive in today’s condition. The study will conclude that as human beings living in an uncertain and unpredicted universe, we have to adapt ourselves to every situation in order to survive.