From "Betrayal" To Freedom

Iris Murdoch is one of the most influential novelists in British literary circle after WWâ…¡. As her novel The Bell is published, it is highly praised by many critics then. The Bell gives a vivid description of a group of people who wish to experience religious life. They arrive in a remote countryside that is far from the urban clamor and civilization to establish a lay religious community. With more and more members, various contradictions become intensified, which results in the disintegration of the community.This paper takes two major characters and three minor characters as the objects and analyzes the theme of betrayal in the novel The Bell. The paper emphasizes on analyzing the process of these characters'betrayals, and discusses how they courageously fight against every bandage and betray various constrictions on freedom. With these betrayals, these characters gradually understand and respect themselves, and ultimately get the true freedom. The thesis consists of five parts: the introduction gives some information on Iris Murdoch and the novel as well as basis of the research and reason of choosing the topic; chapter one gives an analysis on Michael's betrayals of ethics and religion. After many distress, confusion and resignation, he sees through the control and suppression of ethics and religion on people's emotions, and at last understands that this suppression goes against human beings'freedom; chapter two deals with Dora's betrayals of the traditional female roles in family and society, and analyzes step by step how Dora strives for gaining independence and freedom; chapter three deals with three minor characters Toby, Nick and Catherine who have the different experiences of betrayal, focuses on analyzing the meanings of their betrayals, and discusses their processes of gaining the freedom; the last part summarizes these people's experiences of betrayal, and comes to the conclusion that only when human beings could courageously betray various things that constrain people's freedom and objectively learn about themselves and others, they will acquire the true love and freedom.