Literary Criticism: Nuns And Soldiers By Iris Murdoch

 

Written By

Iris Murdoch Pages: 512 Published: 1980 Publisher: Chatto & Windus Set in London and France

Themes

The interplay of faith and human weakness. A spiritual devotion represented by Anne (nun) and the existential battles represented by the other characters (soldiers) and their existential conflicts dangerous for its oppressiveness and the  consequences like the war.

Characters

Guy Openshaw

Husband of Gertrude, he is dying of cancer, he is 43 years old, he had been at the Department of Education, where he met his future wife at a conference.

He studied classical philosophy at the University of Oxford.

Guy speaks with his friend the Count about Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Schopenhauer, Mauthner, Karl Kraus etc.

He read the Odyssey in the Loeb Edition to know the meaning deeply without the interpretation of the translators.

He is the mentor of the Count and he supports Tim , a penniless artist.

He believes that after his death Gertrude should marry the count for being both happy.

Gertrude Openshaw

He is a  30 years old wife of Guy, betrothed to the Count with her husband's blessing.

After his death, she inherits a substantial inheritance, which piques the interest of Tim Reed, a penniless artist engaged to Daisy.

Anne Cavidge A former nun, a close friend of Gertrude. When she was a sixth former her mother died and her brother was killed in a climbing incident.

She has been in the convent for 15 years to gain a spiritual innocence.

She loved the Count and like Tim she risked to die drowned, even for her there has been a new baptism.

She left the convent for a crisis of faith and identity.

The Mother Superior clearly told her that in the outside world she would never achieve innocence.

Anne is determined to be reborn outside the convent.

"She took to a fervent belief in a personal God, a personal saviour, the inevitable refuge. the redemption were mingled in her mind"

Anne firmly believes that good is done actively and not passively, as might be the case with prayer, she is looking for a personal faith.

Her initial plan is to live with Gertrude under the same roof forever.

Gertrude and Anne decide to live together, but fate changes everything when Gertrude and Tim fall in love and want to marry and live together.

She will do everything she can to convince Gertrude not to marry Tim, but she will fail.

Szczepanski Peter - The Count

He's handsome and intellectual, his mentor was Guy, he assisted his friend on his deathbed until the last second. He did everything to alleviate the suffering. In some cases he spoke to Guy about classical music and philosophy. He lives within the radio programs.

After the death of Guy falls into a deep depression at the point to promise to Anne do not commit suicide, but to believe fervently to be killed by a terrorist. His love for Gertrude will remain Platonic.

Tim Reed

A penniless artist, He lives with Daisy, a simple-minded girl, and she will be at the center of the breakdown of Tim and Gertrude's marriage.

The breakup occurred because of a plan where Tim was supposed to make Gertrude believe he had left Daisy forever, but in reality the two wanted to live off the rich widow's money.

The Apex

It is represented by two letters, the first written anonymously by Mrs. to the Count, where she says that Tim and Daisy want to live off Gertrude.

The Count is the cause of the breakup of the marriage between the two, but later writes a letter addressed to Gertrude where he says that Tim is seriously in love with her.