Publication details
Iris Murdoch : Decapitating as Spiritual Exercise in A Severed Head
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The motives of body as an object of sexual desire and power have been omnipresent in narrative writing for centuries. Their rendering, description and symbolization have been influenced by many factors as for instance cultural and historical context, religion, philosophy. The most developed presentation of the body as a sexual object can be found in modern narrative literature where the individuals are blinded by desire for another body. I will quote here Peter Brooks: "Only in humans is there a 'continuity of sexual excitation'. And this continuity means that the male 'acquires a motive for keeping the female, or his sexual objects near him.'" The main protagonists in A Severed Head are compulsively acting to acquire someone else's body and trying to empower it. My presentation has two parts: first it explores the representation of the body in the novel. Secondly, it analyses the character of Honor Klein, as a portrayal of the phallic woman, an independent and intelligent individual who produces awe in masculinity for her being armed with a Japanese sword, which suggests fear of castration. I will show that this representation of the character is a form of empowering herself and maintain her in a powerful and dignified independence. |
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