Literarna besedila Iris Murdoch z vidika eksistencializma in feminizma

Bačnik, Laura (author), Matajc, Vanesa (mentor)

Magistrsko delo preučuje dela angleške pisateljice in filozofinje Iris Murdoch. Osredotoča se predvsem na ideje njene filozofije in kritiko le-te. Najpomembnejšo vlogo pri tem ima filozofija J.-P. Sartra, I. Kanta in Platona, s feminističnega vidika pa filozofija Simone Weil, katere dela so ji služila za vzgled. Delo se ukvarja z literarno analizo njenih romanov, eksistencialistično filozofijo, moralo, primerjavo različnih filozofskih tekstov prej omenjenih filozofov, ki so vplivali na razvoj filozofije I. Murdoch, problematiko spola ter vlogo žensk in moških kot pripovedovalcev ter glavnih in stranskih likov. Ena izmed značilnosti, ki jih obravnavam, so tudi napetosti, ki jih lahko odkrijemo med njeno filozofijo in literaturo, prav tako pa tudi pisateljičin odpor do teoretično usmerjenega pristopa k besedilni analizi. Njena filozofska stališča se razlikujejo od stališč preostalih teoretikov, prav tako pa so tudi delno odgovorna za zmanjšanje zanimanja za branje njenih romanov oziroma literarnih del. V tem delu želim ponovno pregledati njen odnos do filozofske teorije in vpliv le-te na njena dela. Murdoch je menila, da med filozofijo in literaturo ni prelomnih razlik, saj obe iščeta resnico. V svojih romanih je uporabljala različne metode, da bi ustvarila svoj izviren izmišljen svet, poln živahnih likov in pretresljivih dogodkov. Njene fikcije ni mogoče opredeliti znotraj enega samega literarnega gibanja, saj je na nek način edinstvena mešanica, ki ponuja nešteto možnosti za interpretacijo. Njeni romani izražajo močne filozofske interese, vendar pa je kot vplivna pisateljica dvajsetega stoletja, kot ženska, ki je za prvoosebnega pripovedovalca svojih romanov izbrala prav moškega, povzročila nešteto razprav in kritik o tem, ali je tudi sama postala lutka patriarhalne družbe. Zaradi tega se bom v svojem delu oprla tudi na teorije S. Weil, feministične filozofinje, ki se je ukvarjala predvsem z družbenim sporom med moškim in žensko, vplivom religije na življenja ljudi, prav tako pa tudi s splošnim stanjem človeškega bitja.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: literatura in filozofija, angleška književnost, Iris Murdoch, eksistencializem, feminizem, človek.
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Year: 2020
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-119746
• Publication date in RUL: 11.09.2020

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Iris Murdoch's Literary Works from Exsistentialist and Feminist point of view

Abstract

This thesis examines works of a British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch. It primarily delves into her philosophy and the critique of it. The central figures to her philosophy comprise J.-P. Sartre, I. Kant, Platon and, for her feminist views, Simone Weil, who Murdoch greately looked up to. This thesis investigates the literary analaysis of her novels, the exisistentialist philosophy, morality, the comparisons of different philosophical texts by aforementioned philosophers that induced the birth of Murdoch’s philosophy in the first place, the subject of gender and the role of women and men as both main and background characters alike. Another element I discuss are tensions that arise between her philosophy and her literature, additionally exploring her contempt for theoretically-oriented approach to word analasys. Her philosophical standpoints differ from the viewpoints of other theoretics and are moreover partially responsible for the lesser interest in her literary works. I’m going to re-examine her stance on philosophical theory and the influence it had on her works. Murdoch was a firm believer of the notion that there is no immense difference between philosophy and literature, as both of them are in search of truth. In her novels she used various methods of bringing forth her imaginary worlds full of lively characters and surprising events. Her fiction cannot be defined by a mere definition of one single literary movement for it is an unfathomable endless mixture of possible interpretations. While her novels manifest strong philosophical interests, she has been harshly criticized for being an influental 20th century female writer but despite that fact choosing males rather than females for her first-person narrators, prompting debates and critiques about having converted into a puppet of patriarchy. Therefore, I’m also going to touch upon the theories of S. Weil, a feminist philosopher that dealt primarily with the social conflict between a man and a woman, the influence of religion on people’s lives and the general state of human being.

• Keywords: literature and philosophy, English literature, Iris Murdoch, existentialism, feminism, human being.