A prominent experience of the post-war European generation was the acute inquiry about whether life was intrinsically good or evil, and of the good and evil combining to make the world what it is. These divided moral forces figure distinctively in the fiction of Iris Murdoch, one of the most prolific and serious contemporary novelists. She examines the nature of, and the relations between good and evil, innocence and experience, God and the devil. This book explores the concepts of good and evil as presented by Murdoch in relation to the structure of Christian theology pertaining to the same concepts. Murdochs world is not an isolated world and it is one that is open to humane and communal fraternity. She questions the relationships that humans have with the center along with the centrality of many of our human assumptions. She recognizes at the same time the deep human need to be continually reseeking and redefining the center. She also denotes several themes in her text. These include elements of comedy, love, myth, magic and the supernatural. The present book attempts to delve into the experiences of the post-war European mind and the dilemma between good and evil through texts of Iris Murdoch. Beginning with an introduction to Murdoch as a novelist and her contribution to literature, the book elucidates and validates the concepts of good and evil in the backdrop of Christian religion in her selected texts. In addition, it analyses the Greek and Hebrew traditions as well as language content of the characters. The book will undoubtedly prove useful to students, teachers and researchers of English literature.
