The reflected vision: a study of the role of painting in the development of plot in Iris Murdoch's novels

Resumo

During the reading of Iris Murdoch's nineteen novels, references to paintings have been noticed in fourteen of them. Among those, three stand out as establishing a link between painting and character development through the plot: the pictures in question take part in the plot as an internal element influencing the course of action. These books are "The Sandcastle," "The Time of the Angels" and "An Unofficial Rose," and they have been analysed in what concerns that relationship. The order of presentation of each novel has been determined by the author's degree of control of the paintings she has used. That degree ranges from the novelist's complete control in "The Sandcastle" to her almost total detachment in "An Unofficial Rose." A conclusion is drawn as to the validity of such device and the author's mastership in handling it.