A Fairly Honourable Defeat
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| A Fairly Honourable Defeat | |
| Author | Iris Murdoch |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | 1970 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 436 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0670305332 |
A Fairly Honourable Defeat is a novel by the British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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.
