Escapism In Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, The Sea

As the most eminent novelist and philosopher after World War Two, Murdoch isknown for the profound philosophical probe and connotations in her novel, whichexhibits the traces of influence of great minds in literature and philosophy. She usesher novel as a vehicle to elucidate her philosophical ideas and morality, the essence ofwhich is good and “unselfing”. Her most widely read masterpieces are Black Prince,the Severed Head, and the Sea, the Sea, which won the Booker Prize in1978.Enlightened by Fromm’s Escape from Freedom, this thesis attempts to analyze themechanisms major characters use to escape from love, freedom and reality and mostimportantly, to reveal the roots of escapism from the perspectives of nature, cultureand psychology. It also unravels the influence of existentialism upon the author andthe traces of influence in the novel, which reveal the novelist’s concern over theexistence of human beings, the choice of freedom and our escapist instinct. Itcontends that escapism could not help human being out of their predicaments, and thatthey could only break away the burden of existence and the pain as isolated beings by“unselfing”. Through unselfing, one could see the light of reality, obtain the warmthof love and enjoy free freedom.Altogether, the thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is devoted torevealing the mechanism applied by the major characters to escape from love, namely,bad faith, which is quite different from self-deception, envy and jealousy and distrust.Different from lying, bad faith is the deception of one own consciousness. More oftenthan not, jealousy and envy are mistaken, since both of them can generate feelingssuch as fear and insecurity. While envy refers to the strong desire to acquire qualitiesor belongs of the envied, and jealousy suggests the intense emotion of losing what onealready has. And distrust could only tear people apart.Chapter Two reveals escapist tendency of the major characters in their attempt toescape from freedom, such as authoritarianism, destructiveness, attachment. There aretwo ways to achieve authoritarianism, one is to be submissive to the authority, the other is to turn oneself into an authority to apply structure and dictate people. Theextreme case of authoritarianism is masochism and sadism. According to Fromm, aperson tends to escape and get rid of the anguish of meaninglessness, powerfulnessand the pain of existence either by submitting himself or herself to an authority orsimply turn himself and herself into an authority. According to ExistentialisticPsychoanalytical Characterology, biophilous is human being’s primary instinct, whiledestructiveness is secondary. A person only resorts to destructiveness when hisprimary instinct is severely hindered and penned up by the hostile environment.Chapter Three reveals the mechanism applied by the protagonist to escape fromreality, with the attempt to elucidate the root of escapism. Selfish egotism, fantasy,and solipsism are the obstacles on one’s pilgrim to reality. Fettered in the cage of self,a person is incapable to recognize his own self, others and the exterior world, sinceselfishness could distort one’s awareness of the reality. More over, the combinedeffort of egotism and fantasy can also lead to solipsism. A person suffering fromsolipsism tends to neglect or overlook the needs or even the existence of others, andhis or her only concern is himself or herself. Some solipsists even distort the realityaccording to their will.In the last chapter, the root of escapism, in terms of nature and culture, andplacebo effect are traced. Escapism is innate human nature, a mechanism provided bynature for self-preservation. Compared with other creatures, human being isconstantly tortured and inflicted by the ability to think and recognition. With theabsence of god, especially the decay and waning of religion, the absence of God orgods means the absence of fixed values, the modern men are faced with the torturingof nihilism. Culture is the product of human beings’ encountering with nature, or to bemore exact, the product to escape from hostile nature, which on the other hand, fostersand stimulates the instinct of human being to escape. In addition, as the most especialcreature, human beings have varied needs with different levels, and frustration in suchneeds tends to lead to escapism. As an placebo, the act of escape soothe the anxioussouls and provide a room for the tormented ego, which is constantly sandwichedbetween id and superego.