British Literature Since 1800:
Prose
and Narrative, 20th Century.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Mrs. Dalloway (1925)
Characters
Clarissa Dalloway
Richard Dalloway, her husband
Peter Walsh, a former suitor who, unsuccessful, had gone to work in India,
now returned to London to get his married mistress a divorce and look for
work
Elizabeth Dalloway, Clarissa's daughter
Miss Kilman, Elizabeth's friend, seen by Clarissa as a relgious fanatic.
Hugh Whitbread, another friend, a court official who Peter hopes can get him a government job.
Sally Seton, friend to Clarissa and Peter when they were all young, well loved by Clarissa
Septimus Smith, a former soldier and current lunatic
His wife Lucrezia, an Italian woman who married him and moved to England
Dr. Holmes, a psychiatrist
Sir William Bradshaw, a better one, but still ineffective.
Evans, the ghost of a man who died in the first world war, which death Septimus witnessed
"Tradition and the Individual Talent"
Free Fall
Characters:
Sammy Mountjoy, successful artist, the narrator, who feels that he had lost his freedom to make decisions some time in the past
Beatrice Ifor, his first love
Taffy, a Red, rather sleazy second love and eventually his wife
Dr. Halde, a Nazi psychologist
Matthew, a doctor at the psychiatric hospital where Beatrice was sent after Sammy left her, who is in love with Taffy
Sammy finds
out finally that the moment when he lost his right to choose was when he
pledge to do anything to possess Beatrice, for lust--became a user of others
for his personal ends. That's what he was searching for through the
whole book.
The Heart
of the Matter
Characters:
Maj. Scobie, a policeman, also a Roman Catholic
Mrs. Scobie, his wife, going through the motions of marriage with him; she hates the colony in British West Africa
Mrs Rolt, a shipwrecked widow who sins with Scobie
Yusef, a Syrian merchant and crook
Wilson, Scobie's co worker who spies on him
Briefest of plot sketches:
Scobie had been a cop in the hellhole
of BWA for fifteen ruddy years, and now he was passed over for a promotion.
His wife decides to demand that Scobie send her on vacation to the
Cape Colony, and to pay for it he borrowed money from the Syrian merchant
Yusef. Meanwhile there's a shipwreck and Mrs. Rolt is protected by
Scobie, and despite the fact that she just lost her family she begs him to
marry him--after they've already made love repeatedly. But because
he's a Roman Catholic, he can't bear to do it. Also, when his wife
comes back she forces him to take communion at church, without first confessing--damning
him. So he pretends he has angina, a heart condition, fakes his journal,
and dies. Selfish bastard.
Iris Murdoch
She used to lecture in Philosophy at Oxford. Good at a variety
of effects, giving a well-rounded experience and feeling to her novels, less
fragmented than others in the Post-Modern age. In fact, The Unicorn is a kind of postmodern Gothic novel. Complex in theme and symbolism. Fun to read, too.
Under the
Net
Characters.
Anna.
Characters:
Michael Meade, the leader of the lay religious community, Imber
Court, who was going to be a priest but decided not to because he was homosexual
Catherine Fawley: A beautiful, innocent girl
Nick Falwley (whose names call to mind Jude Fawley or "Folly")--an ex-homosexual lover of Michael when he was a student
Paul and Dora Greenfield, a miserable and mediocre pair similar to the couple in The Cocktail Party; Dora is the central character.
Toby Gashe, an 18 year old boy, to kiss Dora, very naive and callow.
Mother Clare (sounds like Angel Clare from Tess), the abbess of Imber Abbey.
Plot and Description:
Kind of like Gothic in ways, talking about ancient curses and such.
"To Room Nineteen"
from A Man and Two Women
[Also good to know: The Golden Notebook]