A Fairly Honourable Defeat
- A Fairly Honourable Defeat
infobox Book |
name = A Fairly Honourable Defeat
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption =
author = Iris Murdoch
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Viking Press
pub_date = 1970
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 436 pp
isbn = ISBN 0670305332
preceded_by =
followed_by =
"A Fairly Honourable Defeat" is a novel by the British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch.
Plot summary
The lives of several friends are thrown into disarray by the machinations of Julius King. Julius makes a bet with his ex-girlfriend Morgan that he can break up the homosexual couple Axel and Simon; meanwhile, Morgan and her brother-in-law Rupert are conned into embarking on an affair, and Morgan's nephew Peter is falling in love with her.
Characters in "A Fairly Honourable Defeat"
*Julius King, academic
*Rupert, his former colleague, a senior civil servant writing a book on living morally
*Hilda, Rupert's wife
*Simon, Rupert's brother
*Axel, Rupert's colleague and Simon's partner
*Morgan, Julius's rejected lover and Hilda's sister
*Tallis, Morgan's estranged husband
Major themes
The "defeat" of the title may be that of Tallis, failing to renew his relationship with his wife; however, in a sense, all the protagonists are comically defeated in one manner or another. Rather than a wicked or satanic character, Julius is a loki-like mischief-maker who juxtaposes and undermines Tallis' moral standing. Ultimately, this is a novel about various forms of silence. It illustrates the paradoxical notion that what remains unsaid, what is kept secret, can emerge as a violent and dangerous undoing. Iris Murdoch puts realistic characters in contrived situations, and shows how their moral views and understandings affect their lives.
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