Love And Goodness In Bruno’s Dream

Iris Murdoch is one of the leading literary figures of the twentieth century. She isthe author of26highly intelligent and complex novels winning numerous awards andhonors. Murdoch in a way is better noted for her contributions to contemporary moralphilosophy. Her extension of moral philosophy from the focus on what is right to theconsideration of what is good finds its expression in her novel writing. According toher, to be good entails the renunciation of self and seeing the reality of others.Bruno’s Dream is believed to be Murdoch’s best novel since The Bell. It wasshortlisted for the Booker Prize in1970. The protagonist Bruno was dying. Lookingback on his life, he repented over his selfish way with his family and decided to makeamends with his son Miles. And his meeting with Miles sets off a chain of events thatfundamentally change the life of all other characters. Most of them live in the dreamworld constructed by their selfish concerns and personal fantasies which Murdochbelieves to be the major barriers to becoming good.This dissertation argues that being good is an acquired condition. One has tosuppress the self and see the world as it really is. Apart from the introductory and theconclusive parts, the dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter analyzesMurdoch’s conception of goodness by focusing on what she terms as unselfing andexpounds on the power of the past as a strong enemy to goodness. It also points outthat Murdoch’s concern with goodness without God is somewhat inconsistent inBruno’s Dream. The second chapter is dedicated to discussing the relationshipbetween love and goodness. Murdoch thinks that convention and neurosis are the twoobstacles to love and that love and death are one. The last chapter looks into howMurdoch relates art to goodness. She thinks that the two share the essence of love.Good art reveals the reality to which we are blind. A good artist should be able tosuppress the self and see the whole picture of the world.