Bodies and things: Iris Murdoch and the material world

Jennifer A Backman, Purdue University

Abstract

Bodies and Things argues for the importance of corporeality and materiality in Iris Murdoch's fiction. Although Murdoch is customarily understood as a Platonist for whom the material world holds little interest, I suggest that she is actually deeply invested in the world around us. Using a material studies approach, I focus on her representations of bodies, objects, domestic spaces, and foods, concluding that Murdoch's descriptions of the external world contain a moral component that compliments her more explicitly philosophical work.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Sagar, Purdue University.

Subject Area

British and Irish literature

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