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The Randomness of Life

Themes

Art as a Vehicle for Truth

As Loxias and Bradley Pearson explain in their forewords and postscripts, art is one of the rare venues that allows for the articulation of truth. As Loxias says in the conclusion of the novel, "art tells the only truth that ultimately matters." As a follower of the ideas of Plato, Iris Murdoch believes that the world of everyday life is a world of illusions, behind which exists a world of truth, containing "ideal forms". When one is finally able to see the world of ideal forms, one is glimpsing truth. In a realm with both illusory and "true" worlds, art holds a special place, because through it an artist is able to bring viewers out of the illusory plane and into the true one. Art serves as a fundamental philosophical tool that can alert the world to higher meanings in life. Bradley Pearson's struggle to write a deeply meaningful novel in The Black Prince captures one artist's attempt to preserve a glimmer of truth for others. Although Pearson is struck by writer's block for most of the novel, his experience of Eros allows him to create the ultimate master work. In doing so, as P.Loxias (the God Apollo) suggests, he is able to bring truth to us, the readers.

Eros's Facilitation of Expression

Bradley Pearson's experience of Eros gives him the ability to write. "Eros" refers both to erotic love and to a deeper lust for power, love, and desire. Bradley's experience of Eros originally starts as pure love for Julian Baffin: he becomes happy and pleasant after feeling it. As his love turns towards lust, however, he begins to refer to his Eros as "black Eros," referencing the negative qualities that overtake him during his obsession with Julian. Despite the potentially destructive power of Eros that Bradley experiences, it still is the avenue that allows him to glimpse truth. After such a sudden and intense voyage with Eros, Bradley emerges changed and is finally able to express truth through the creation of art.

The Randomness of Life

Iris Murdoch was not an existentialist, but she shares the existentialist idea that life has no greater purpose than what individual humans designate. For Murdoch and existentialists, there is no God who has preordained one's life path before one is born. Instead, one is born with freedom to create whatever type of life that one chooses. Despite the ability to be free, most people generally prefer to cling to a preordained meaning by believing in God, or by assigning meaning to everything that happens to them. In an effort to counter this tendency, Murdoch attempts to argue for the random nature of life in her novel. For example, Bradley and Julian randomly meet twice, but there is no sense that their coincidental meetings were meant to be. Likewise, a series of random arrivals and meetings drive the entire plot of her novel. These events are what make up people's lives, but they were not each individually plotted by the Fates. As Murdoch demonstrates, life is just a series of random accidents connected together.



Motifs

Marriage

The Black Prince begins and ends with a domestic quarrel between a married couple. During the novel, Murdoch analyzes the institution of marriage by looking at it through three different couples. For each of these couples, marriage fails. Furthermore, in two of the marriages, Priscilla's and Roger's, and Rachel's and Arnold's, the marriage proves fatal; one of the partners is dead by the end of the book. Given the failure of marriages in her novel, Murdoch suggests that it is a consistently painful institution, which might be better avoided. Bradley Pearson himself articulates a similar perspective when he suggests that the state of being married is inconsistent with a human's natural desire and that marriage generally leads one towards a state of perpetual loneliness.

Hamlet

Hamlet is major motif in the novel. Hamlet's characters, text, and themes recur several times. The play primarily appears because Julian Baffin wants to study Hamlet, so she keeps asking Bradley to teach it to her. By explaining it to Julian, Bradley is able to articulate his interpretation of what Hamletactually means. The theme in Hamlet that is most important toThe Black Prince is that of identity and the ability to create one's identity through the use of words. As Bradley Pearson writes his narrative, he struggles with this issue, which may be the reason for which the novel is called The Black Prince—a title usually given to Hamlet. Hamlet's appearance in the novel also plays an important role in the growing rapport between Julian and Bradley, since their initial tutorial is a symbolic sex scene, and when Julian eventually dresses up as Hamlet, Bradley proceeds to make violent love to her. Murdoch's frequent references to Hamlet also indicate her textual allegiance to Shakespearian techniques, which she greatly admired.

Feet and Boots

Attention to Julian's feet is a motif that chronicles the sexual awakening of Bradley. The motif begins when Bradley sees Julian walking barefoot by the subway station. He proceeds to buy her a pair of purple boots, but not before his socks tumble out of his pocket and she puts them on. It is when she finally puts on the boots in the store, that Bradley feels his first swell of lust. Later during their Hamlet tutorial, Julian arrives wearing the same purple boots. As the room grows hot, she asks if she can take them off. She asks Bradley if her feet smell and he says that they do, but that he finds it "charming". As lust and unrealized love overwhelm him, Bradley comments that he could smell "her sweat, her feet, her breasts." Julian's exposure of her feet galvanizes Bradley's sexuality and serves as one of the symbolic steps towards the awakening of his love.

Symbols

Kites

When Bradley leaves Rachel's house after kissing her, Julian releases her kite and Bradley follows it faithfully as he walks to the subway station. The kite symbolizes the glimpse of the eternal that he is soon to get, but has not yet received. Bradley already has philosophized about the importance of kites when he was drunk in Bristol noting that kites are distant high things that are "an image of our condition." As he follows Julian's kite to the train station, he feels that it is the "bearer of some potent as yet unfathomed destiny." The kite's ability to fly and to see the world from a higher perspective is something that all humans aspire to and is something that Bradley shall be able to do by the end of the novel. The kite symbolizes the ability to see beyond the world of illusionary forms that dominates the everyday world.

Priscilla's jewels

Priscilla is obsessed with her jewels and believes that if she receives them, all of her troubles shall be over. This belief is false and represents the sad state of her life. Priscilla's jewels represent the one thing that she was able to gather during her married years. To some extent, they represent her sole legacy, since she has lived a childless existence. But it is a sad legacy, as jewels are cold, meaningless items whose primary significance is their monetary value. Priscilla's inability to see the illusionary and meaningless nature of these items is consistent with her inability to have seen, or looked for, a deeper layer of truth during her entire life. When Priscilla finally receives her longed after jewels, she not surprisingly does not feel happier. Her jewels are meaningless items that suggest the way in which she, and most people, waste their lives by not trying to aspire for more meaningful truths.

Der Rosenkavalier

Der Rosenkavalier is Strauss's opera that Bradley and Julian attend. The opera has a special symbolic role because it contains sexual partners of grossly different ages, similar to the one in The Black Prince. Bradley's realization of the similarity between the opera and his own sexuality causes him to vomit after only several minutes of watching it. The color red that plays such a large role in the opera's setting also is significant in bringing out Bradley's silenced sexual desires. Although Bradley may not know this at the beginning of the novel, the plot of Der Rosenkavalier also foreshadows that of The Black Prince. While Bradley and Julian will have a love affair, as the Princess and Octavian did, both Julian and Octavian will eventually leave their older lovers and find partners their own age.

Analysis 1

Murdoch has confessed that the mysterious editor of the novel "P. Loxias" is truly supposed to be the Greek God Apollo. In the novel's original publication, she provided a clue to his identity by placing a picture of Apollo on the book's cover. Without this clue, few people truly understood who Loxias was, since the correlation of the name to the God comes only from an obscure reference in Aeschylus's The Oresteia. Apollo's placement as the editor of the novel is appropriate perhaps because he is the God of Art and the novel primarily concerns the nature of art. Apollo's presence also helps to explain the book's title, since Apollo was known as "The Black Prince". The title also refers to Shakespeare's Hamlet, a character referenced frequently in the novel, because he too was called "the black prince". Furthermore, the initials of the "Black Prince", "B.P.", are also those of Bradley Pearson, suggesting that he may be a Black Prince of his own accord.

The two fictional forewords introduce the major themes of the novel and suggest its textual structure. The novel will be written by Bradley Pearson in a chronological format favored by "modern" novelists. While Pearson may tell his story in a straightforward manner, Murdoch does not. Murdoch herself thought modern novels inferior to nineteenth-century novels, once telling a London Times reporter that amongst her enemies were "tight, crystalline, first person novels." Murdoch prized nineteenth-century English and Russian novels, longing to recreate the complex characterizations of Tolstoy and George Eliot. By using the fictional forewords to frame Bradley Pearson's narrative, Murdoch allows her novel to address the act of telling the story at the same time it tells the story itself. The forewords demonstrate the importance of philosophy to the novel. Both P. Loxias and Bradley Pearson use their forewords to philosophize on the relationship between art, love, and truth. The inclusion of abstract philosophical discussions continues throughout the book. The philosophical comments lend the novel a fragmented style that requires us to switch between the story and the narrator's mind.

The relation between art, love, and truth discussed by Bradley and P. Loxias is addressed repeatedly. By discussing it in the foreword, Murdoch prepares the reader for its later articulation. Murdoch sees art as one of the avenues through which truth can be expressed. Through the experience of erotic love, Murdoch believes that we are able to get a glimpse of the eternal that then can be captured in art. Bradley Pearson's confrontation with love and erotic passion allows him to see out of his limited world and create art. His experience serves as a testimony to Murdoch's larger philosophical ideas.

Structurally, the opening of "Bradley Pearson's Story: A Celebration of Love", which is the novel proper, is significant as it will reappear as the final scene of the novel. The book opens with Arnold calling Bradley to say that he might have killed his wife. The book will close with Rachel Baffin calling Bradley because she just killed her husband. Furthermore, the opening conflict between Rachel and Arnold underscores the tension between them that shall lead to Arnold's murder. Although Arnold believes that their marriage can sustain anything, Rachel's analysis of the tension within their relationship shall prove more accurate. Between the lengthy period between the opening and closing domestic quarrels, the idea of marriage and its drawbacks shall be discussed numerous times.

Bradley's initial encounter with Julian shows her to be a youthful and somewhat naïve girl. Her act of tossing throwing ripped up pieces of love letters while chanting her boyfriend's name as to rid herself of his spirit can scarcely be considered without a mild smile at her youthful mysticism. Murdoch provides a wry comment on Julian's intelligence with her comments on writing. Julian, who has never excelled at school and thus far pursued several different possible careers, suddenly decides to become a writer and asks Bradley for reading recommendations. When he recommends Homer and Dante, she is delighted, but later comments that she can't read poetry, not knowing that Homer and Dante are poets. The other fact worth noting about Julian is her initial androgynous appearance and the androgynous quality of her name. This motif of androgyny will appear later in the novel in regards to Julian and also to other characters.

Bradley himself appears to be a cold character. Particularly cruel are the letters that he writes to Christian and Francis Marloe. Both rudely tell the others that he is not interested in ever seeing them again and basically detests them. Even Bradley's letter to Julian is fairly blunt, explaining to her that he cannot teach her and referring her to her father. In addition to articulating Bradley's character through these letters, Murdoch also reveals his internal dialogue, which is often inconsistent with the politeness of his actions. While talking to Julian, for example, he is friendly, but is busy thinking about the impossibility of teaching such an unimportant girl. Likewise, he attempts to console his sister but is fixated upon getting away as soon as possible. Bradley's internal dialogue reveals him to frequently not be the kind character that others believe.

Textually, this section demonstrates the classic Murdochian technique of pressing together as many coincidental events as possible. This trend had already been seen in the first section with the arrival of Francis Marloe and the telephone call of Arnold Baffin. Here, the coincidences continue with the random encounter with Julian Baffin, who Bradley had believes was in school outside of London, the unexpected arrival of his distanced sister Priscilla, and by the arrival of Arnold, Rachel, Julian, Francis, and Christian at the exact moment that Priscilla has tried to commit suicide and is retching all over the floor. These random occurrences are widespread throughout Murdoch's fiction, and reflect her belief that one's life does not proceed with a pre-scripted purpose, but rather is the result of a series of coincidences and accidents that all conjoin together. These random juxtapositions of these six characters introduced in this chapter shall continue in the novel.

Analysis 3

Murdoch develops the motif of marital relations by reflecting on the history of Bradley's marriage to Christian. Bradley suggests that the institution of marriage itself is flawed. He does not believe it possible for the human soul to live in continual proximity with another, as a marriage necessitates. Furthermore, he sees the lengthy marital state as an invitation to loneliness for each partner. Bradley's visit to Bristol reinforces the existence of such loneliness and separation in Priscilla and Roger's marriage. Their marital state was even worse than Bradley knew; for the first time he learns that Roger only married Priscilla because she lied about being pregnant. Without their desired child, their relationship clung together in a state of misery. As a result of their marital discord, Roger had an affair and Priscilla used her cold jewels as her sole consolation. Bradley Pearson is both an author and character in this section. This is the first time he fills both roles since the foreword. His commentary reinforces the complexity of his position as the author of his own tale. He warns that his own personal feelings and memories of the characters involved in the story may affect the way that he presents them. In doing so, he comments upon the nature of storytelling itself. Bradley also uses his authorial commentary to reinforce certain philosophical ideas, primarily the major theme of the relationship between art and truth. Particularly, Bradley's attempt to recognize his dialogue with the reader highlights Murdoch's belief that through the joint realization of a piece of literature, experienced by reader and writer, both parties may glean some aspects of truth.

Although Roger and Marigold are relatively minor characters, their pairing is important because it prefigures that of Bradley and Julian. Bradley feels angry that Roger is dating such a younger woman, but in just a few days he embarks on a similar quest himself, with an even younger woman (Julian). When set in the context of the novel's later events, his initial anger seems ironic. Richard Todd has suggested that Murdoch specifically creates these matching pairs in a textual move that reflects her study of Shakespeare, who used similar techniques. In addition to the mismatched Roger and Marigold and Bradley and Julian, Murdoch also creates similar sibling pairs with Christian and Francis and Bradley and Priscilla.

Murdoch's relates her philosophy during Bradley's drunken contemplations in Bristol. Murdoch believed that life has no deep plot or plan, and that no God predetermines the future. The way that a person chooses to live life is entirely up to that person. This constitutes a freedom that most people try to hide from, because it scares them so much. As he gets drunker, Bradley thinks, "Life is horrible, horrible, horrible, said the philosopher." His thoughts become morbid as he considers Priscilla and Roger's misery. Their misery existed because they both failed to take charge of their lives. Had she taken a more proactive stance, Priscilla's life might not be in its current state.

The sexual desire that Bradley feels upon kissing Rachel is the first moment of erotic love in the novel. When Bradley gets home, he lets Francis Marloe into his house. The friendliness of this act compared to Bradley's previous rejection and rudeness towards Francis indicates the way that even the smallest flicker of desire initiates Bradley Pearson's change, although Bradley still has a long way to go before becoming a fully decent human being.

Analysis

Bradley's initial descriptions of Julian are influenced by the fact that he is telling the story. Julian appears to be aggressively interested in Bradley, a state of affairs that may not actually exist. Julian's aggressive interest can be seen when she comes with her mother to return the water buffalo girl; when she corners him outside to talk about Hamlet; when she calls him her guru and teacher; and when she invites herself over to his house for the Hamlet tutorial. These actions all are very subtle, but they confirm Bradley's own belief that Julian's love for him was sincere and self-motivated, not merely an unsubstantiated response to an old man's lustful claim.

Bradley's erotic desires start to emerge in this section, both in relation to Rachel and Julian. Bradley does not think frequently about sex, but the language that he uses to describe the women shows his sexual interest. Rachel is old and flabby, with "dulled hair"; Julian is young, fresh, and bare foot. The vitality and color in the words that Bradley uses to depict Julian indicate that he is far more interested in her than he is in her mother. The actual sex scene between Rachel and Bradley is somewhat comic, as Rachel immediately sheds all her clothes and tries to press against Bradley who is still dressed. Even Bradley thinks of how foolish the two must look. Eventually, he takes off his clothes, but does so dutifully. When he later sees Julian trying on the purple boots, this emotion changes dramatically. The youth and perfection of her body inspire a surge of lust. Furthermore, although Bradley says that he bought Julian the boots to quiet her, it seems equally likely that he bought her the boots because he already has developed a crush on her. The idea of buying someone purple boots to keep them quiet after all, does not really make sense. His justification here should be questioned.

Bradley's ambiguous feelings towards Arnold become clear in this section when he decides to send Arnold a scathing review of his new book. Bradley wants to send the review because he feels slightly jealous of Arnold and Christian's closeness. His admission of jealousy is unusual since he usually maintains that he is never jealous of Arnold. The actual reprinting of the review helps to articulate the specific artistic differences between the two men. Bradley criticizes Arnold's book because it was quickly produced and lacks artistry. Murdoch's presentation of this critique is ironic because it is one that frequently was leveled at her. She, like Arnold Baffin, occasionally managed to draft one novel per year, and her work was also condemned for artistic immaturity. Even though this critique could be self-referencing, Murdoch does not seem to be saying that it is entirely wrong. The printing of the review does play an important role in showing Bradley's jealousy and artistic snobbery.

Analysis

This section presents the issue that will take up the rest of the novel: Bradley's love for Julian. At the end of the tutorial, Bradley feels that a powerful emotion has come over him. He does not name this emotion but it seems clear that it is love for Julian. Even without detailing sexual thoughts in Bradley's mind, Murdoch indicates the sexual nature of the tutorial through her use of language. As their discussion of Hamletheats up, both of their bodies do as well. Julian slips off her purple boots, revealing her naked feet. Bradley sheds his jacket, his tie, and unbuttons the top of his shirt. By the end of their session, both are sweating. Although the two have not touched each other, their disrobing and heat mirror a sexual act. Bradley's suggestion that Julian "should go" implies that he is so overwhelmed by her presence that she needs to leave. Bradley's comment that he can smell her "her sweat, her feet, her breasts" is also innuendo.

The way Bradley recounts his meeting with Julian contrasts his description of his meeting with her mother, Rachel. Bradley describes seeing Rachel's "satiny shoulder strap, not clean," "flopped down over the vaccination mark on her plump pallid upper arm." Needless to say, this image of Rachel's arm does not tantalize in the same manner as does that of Julian's naked feet, since Bradley feels disgusted by the older woman's body. Bradley's disinterested feelings towards Rachel also are evident in his matter-of-fact manner when he describes his lack of interest in having an affair. Rachel's sad reaction is slightly poignant, but Murdoch does not suggest that Rachel will soon become a victim. In fact, the fierceness that Rachel describes in this scene foreshadows her final actions in the novel. She warns Bradley that she has a burning fire in her and that she will not become like Priscilla. She describes what is in her as more than just a "will to survive." She calls it "fire, fire. What tortures. What kills." Rachel's description of herself will become accurate when she kills Arnold at the end of the novel.

References to Hamlet recur throughout The Black Prince,although the bulk of discussion about the play's content takes place during this session. Bradley Pearson's opinions on the meaning of Hamlet are not Iris Murdoch's. In fact, Murdoch appears parodying an interpretation of Shakespeare by emphasizing Freudian psychology. Francis Marloe attempts a similar Freudian reading of The Black Prince in his postscript, an effort that appears equally silly. Bradley's commentary about Hamlet's quest for identity and for the language of identity do seem to relevant to The Black Prince, especially since Hamlet, often called the "black prince," is one of the book's namesakes. However the plots of the two books do not closely follow. Hamlet's identity crisis could apply to Bradley Pearson, but it could also apply to Julian and even to Francis Marloe.

Analysis

Part Two opens with a several page soliloquy on the nature of love. The narrator remarks that Eros, desirous love, has touched Bradley and it overcomes him so much that he begins lying on the carpet, almost immobilized. Bradley decides that this love is a good thing, a pure gift full of truth that will be able to inspire him towards his artistic creation. His belief in the purity of the emotion also makes him decide to never taint its quality by mentioning it to Julian.

Bradley's strong feelings about love's connection to art again allow Murdoch to elaborate the connection between art and truth, as brought on by the experience of Eros, or erotic love. Murdoch's philosophy follows the ideas of Plato. Plato believed that the world of everyday life represented a world of superficial appearances, but that beyond this world existed an ideal one in which objects could be found in their true form. Murdoch believes that through love, as through religion, we have a rare chance to glimpse the true, eternal world that Plato describes. Furthermore, the contact with Eros will later give inspiration to create art, as it does for Bradley.

Bradley's sudden love makes him appear changed to all of the other characters, but in many ways, this change is superficial. Because Bradley suddenly starts buying people presents, lending money, and speaking kindly, everyone assumes that he is changed. However, while his actions indicate a new man, his thoughts reveal him to still be the self-interested soul that he long has been. Bradley's responses to Christian's and Rachel's desires for his love are particularly cold. As the older women are pouring out their hearts, he basically ignores them and thinks only of Julian, a woman with a much younger body. His mistreatment of Priscilla, as he bluntly informs her of Roger's affair, demonstrates his lack of consideration. Bradley's sudden kindness towards Roger, furthermore, might reflect his changing emotions towards sexual relationship between couples of unequal ages. While the idea previously angered him, now he is an interested party in the promotion of the concept.

By the close of the section, it becomes apparent that Bradley is going to have quite a difficult time keeping his love for Julian a secret. Even though he resolved to do so, he is quickly finding that he wants to be with Julian. Instead of just speaking with her on the phone, he has to invite her to dinner. At dinner, Bradley acts as a complete voyeur, since he cannot eat. As he watches her, he focuses upon her firm body and eating habits. He also repeatedly contemplates kissing her, an urge that would break his vow to never mention his love. After only just one day, Bradley's desire for "pure love" has already turned slowly towards lustful thoughts. As a result, it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to keep his emotion a secret for very much longer.

Analysis

Murdoch's uses the opera Der Rosenkavalier as a mirror ofThe Black Prince; both describe a love affair between a couple of different ages. However, in the opera, the female character, the Princess von Werdenbery, is the older of the characters. The opera also addresses issues of androgyny similar to those in The Black Prince since the male lover, Octavian, initially dresses up as a woman. Bradley does not realize what the opera is about until it begins. His request that Julian stop describing the plot comes from its closeness to his own emotions and also his anxiety at Julian calling the thirty- something year old Princess a "much older woman," since he is twenty years older than that. Although Bradley will not make it through the entire opera, the outcome of Der Rosenkavalieralso helps to predict the plot of The Black Prince: Octavian eventually leaves the Princess, as Julian leaves Bradley.

Murdoch uses her language carefully in describing Bradley's perception of the opera house. Particularly noticeable is her use of the color red, which symbolically references passion and sexual desire. As Bradley sits in the opera house, the color red overwhelms him. Julian's dress, the opera lamps, the curtains, and the bed on which the Princess and Octavian lie all are red. Surrounded by the color red and the sweet singing of women's voices, Bradley feels overcome by nausea, primarily because the sensation of unrealized lust and desire have fully overtaken his body.

The location where Bradley finally vomits is also significant. He is surrounded by fruits and vegetables: a box of peaches; a bag of carrots; a basket of cherries; and crates of strawberries. These fruits all carry sexual connotations and indicate the original location of sexual sin, the Garden of Eden. The actual act of vomiting references the ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre since Sartre wrote an entire novel entitled Nauseadealing with the physical sensation and its relation to man's philosophical experience of the world. Sartre believed when man realizes that he cannot control the world and that the world does not exist just for him, his freedom to control his own life may make him feel nauseous. Although Murdoch did not consider herself a Sartrean existentialist, she had studied and written extensively about Sartre's philosophy. Furthermore, Bradley Pearson's need to vomit comes at a time when a sensation outside himself, Eros, overtakes his body completely; Bradley realizes that he cannot control it. His need to vomit is similar to Sartre's presentation of men who long to vomit upon realizing that their inability to control the world around them.

The description of Julian's response to Bradley's declaration of love must is affect by the fact that Bradley is the author of the narrative. Julian appears to be willing to pursue a relationship with Bradley and is even aggressively interested in doing so. While Bradley insists that he leave her, it is Julian who begs that he stay to talk. It is also Julian who leans forward and kisses Bradley, not the other way around. Finally in a very flirtatious move, Julian reveals that she previously created the name of a so-called boyfriend just to make Bradley jealous. Bradley portrays Julian as a willing and even eager partner to their love affair, but we should question the accuracy of his description.

Analysis

Throughout The Black Prince characters see other literary characters as representative of their own situations. Julian compares her realization of love to that of Emma in Jane Austen's Emma. Emma, who is twenty- one, spends much of the book looking for love before suddenly realizing that she has long been in love with Mr. Knightley, a close family friend who is sixteen years her senior. While Julian's love appears to be sincere, we may doubt its truth. Even Julian's tendency to compare their relationship to one in a novel suggests dreaminess on her part, while simultaneously suggesting her romantic belief that she and Bradley will marry and live happily ever after, as did Emma and Knightley. More obviously, Julian demonstrates her limited grasp on reality by not understanding that her parents would object to the relationship. Furthermore, she feels astonished by their anger and dismay. Julian has convinced herself that she is thoroughly enraptured by a pure love for Bradley, but her failure to appreciate the complex circumstances of their relationship suggests once again her naïve nature.

Rachel and Arnold's articulations their opinions Julian's behavior underscore the lack of reliability in the narrative, since we must question whether Bradley's account actually honest. Their explanations are important because they are partially true. Because they are true, they demonstrate the way that Bradley may be acting inappropriately. Additionally, by condemning his behavior, Arnold and Rachel help to guide the reader towards a similar condemnation. Bradley's seduction of Julian is crucial in his relationship with Arnold. The tension between Arnold and Bradley, as well as the tension between their artistic perspectives, is the main conflict in the novel. By taking Julian from Arnold, Bradley is demonstrating his ability to gain power over Arnold, of whom, despite his assertions that he is not, he is slightly jealous. Furthermore, his refusal to return Arnold's letter about Christian also shows the way that Bradley is preparing himself for a full battle with Arnold. The interaction between Arnold, Bradley, and Rachel is almost comic because although they all angry with one another, they maintain a polite veneer of friendship. As Arnold stands on the street telling Bradley that he is taking Julian to Venice, Arnold mentions that Rachel sends Bradley her regards. While their language towards one another remains friendly, their hostile attitudes towards one another have heightened the tension between Arnold and Bradley.

Analysis

The name of the cottage, Patara, references a location that Saint Paul visited during his journey to preach the message of Christ. Murdoch's decision to reference this classical location evokes the relationship of religion to Bradley Pearson's own quest. Religion, like love and art, provides a sense of the eternal. By placing Bradley in a location with religious significance, Murdoch indicates her belief that the universal mystical feeling that inspired Saint Paul may also be able to inspire him. Unlike Saint Paul's more pure thoughts, however, Bradley Pearson's ability to create a universal truth will be inspired by his relationship to Eros.

The motif of Hamlet appears again in this chapter with Julian's portrayal of the prince. By dressing like Hamlet, Julian again appears androgynous. The relationship of her masculine appearance to Bradley's heightened sexual desire argues for Bradley's repressed homosexuality. Androgyny is a motif that recurs in the novel. There is no strong proof, however, that Murdoch wanted to indicate that Bradley was a homosexual. She seems more interested in toying with the idea of him not having a firmly fixed identity and with suggesting the possibilities of androgyny in general.

Bradley and Julian's secret romantic flight evokes similar mythical romantic trysts, but their age difference and Bradley's lustful thoughts ruin the purity of their union. Julian embodies youthful impetuous love. Her willingness to throw herself from a car to prove her love signifies the strength of her romantic fervor. Her desire to marry Bradley and live happily ever after with him appears equally naïve, since it is a longing formed after just one day. Julian's style of sincere, foolish love is similar to that of Shakespeare's Juliet, her close namesake, a character who acts in equally impetuous ways. Still, while Julian may resemble Juliet, Bradley Pearson makes a very poor Romeo. Bradley exhibits none of the zealous love that Julian maintains and that he felt a few chapters ago. His thoughts are almost entirely fixated upon the possibility of sex. By showing Bradley's perpetually sexual thoughts, Murdoch demonstrates that to a large extent, lust rather than love motivates him. Bradley's desires reveal him to be a lustful older man who takes advantage of the naivete of a younger woman, much like Humbert Humbert in Nabokov's Lolita.

The violent sex scene between Julian and Bradley shatters Julian's illusions about the nature of their love. Many critics compare Bradley's rough seduction of Julian to rape, since he fails to heed her requests to slow down, and she weeps bitterly afterward. When their sexual encounter has ended, Julian appears changed and confused. She no longer idealizes their love and married life together. The reality of sex with an overly forceful older man has sharpened her perception of the nature of their relationship. Her realization becomes more clear when her father arrives and explains Bradley's true age and his concealment of Pricilla's death. Arnold's suggestion that lust led Bradley to keep Priscilla's suicide a secret is correct. The way in which Priscilla's death hastens Bradley's sexual urges suggests that he is a cold, lustful figure. Bradley's behavior in this section seems to differ from his earlier experience of "pure love".

Analysis

Arnold's death resolves the tension between Arnold and Bradley. Although the book may seem to be about Bradley's experience of love, his competitive relationship with Arnold plays a prominent role that affects all of his decisions. Bradley's struggle to reconnect to his creativity stands in contrast to Arnold's ease at constantly being creative. Even Bradley's love for Julian can be seen as a competitive reaction to Arnold. By possessing her, he takes her away from her father. Furthermore, Bradley's ability to love Julian relates to his ability to create art. By loving Arnold's daughter, he is inspired to create the art that challenges Arnold's art.

The desire for Julian deeply relates to the issue of aesthetics. When Arnold takes Julian back, Bradley takes revenge upon Arnold's books. Arnold's death will finally end the tension and Bradley himself plays an important role in the murder. Although Rachel physically wields the poker, Bradley's efforts push her to do kill Arnold. Many critics suggest that the competition between Arnold and Bradley is a modern retelling of the Greek story of Apollo and Marysas. The two once competed to see who was the better musician. Not surprisingly, Apollo won and punished Marysas by flaying him alive. Murdoch frequently discussed this myth in her other writings. She also refers to Apollo through the character of P. Loxias in the novel.

The end of the novel is both surprising and expected, since it has been foreshadowed. Rachel's final telephone call to Bradley mirrors Arnold's initial call to Bradley. This time, however, the fireplace poker has killed its victim. Beginning and ending the novel with the same scene creates a structural mirror. The final scene is Murdoch's definitive comment on the institution of marriage. Since the scene involves the death of one of the married partners, it seems fair to say that Murdoch views the possibility of marriage skeptically. Arnold's sudden death provides an ironic contrast to the opening domestic quarrel after which he argued that his marriage had the strength to sustain any blow. With the opening and closing domestic quarrels, Murdoch uses the novel in between to articulate the often-difficult dynamics of married life.


Date: 2015-12-11; view: 857


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