Tainted Love

As far as I can follow, I believe my eighth ninth reading this year was The Bell by Iris Murdoch, finished today around 11 am. A few (or many?) years ago the film Iris was advertized, starring Kate Winslet and Judi Dench. I became interested in the story but haven't seen the film ever since. This was based on the life of Dame Iris Murdoch as presented in the book Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch, written by his husband, John Bayley. I read the book a couple of months ago inspired by my soulmate blogger and my slight reminisce that I wanted to watch the film. Iris Murdoch was an acknowledged British writer and philosopher, and according to Wikipedia in 2008 she was named among "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945." A quite interesting and indeed cruel part of her story is that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease, and according to Bayley she deteriorated so much that in the end she couldn't remember that she was a writer and had written about 50 books (I hope I remember correctly). To have such a genius wasted is one of the cruelest deeds of whoever commands our life, I think, not that it is juster to inflict Alzheimer upon non-writers.
I don't remember what other Murdoch-novels the library had but I recalled that The Bell was mentioned in Bayley's book as one inspired by one of their travels to the countryside.
It would be hard to put down the story in a few words. It is similar to a Harry Potter book in that it starts slowly and towards the end suddenly all kinds of events are triggered. The character we first meet and probably the main character of the novel, is Dora Greenfield, who is described on the cover as "Dora Greenfield, erring wife." Sounds like a business card, doesn't it? One of the characters, James said that she is "what is popularly called a bitch." I remember that I started the book late at night and could hardly put it down, so amazing was Dora's character. She is in her twenties, and is a bit childish and superficial. Her husband, Paul is about ten years her elder, maniacally jealous, and violent, too.
The story is set in a lay anglican community near a convent called Imber Abbey. This is where Paul is studying some medieval documents in the library, and that's how we get to know the people and their world. At first they all seem bigot and somewhat simple-minded. Then gradually we discover that there's a lot more under the surface. In fact, I really liked the complexity of the characters.
The narration is also interesting as it often shifts. For example, at the beginning we start to "follow" Dora, then when she arrives, Michael Meade, the founder of the community, becomes the centre of interest. Probably the third such figure whom we can observe closely is Toby Gashe, an eighteen year old visitor to the community. In addition, there are two important characters who set the events in motion (I hope my English is not Hunglish here), Nick and Catherine Fawley, twin brother and sister. Catherine is a young and beautiful woman who is to become a nun soon, and in the meantime lives and works within the Imber community. Her brother, Nick, resembles her very much in his physical appearance, but is very different in character. He is loud and rude and blasphemic; therefore, he is accomodated in a different house from the others, called the Lodge (the others live in the Court). Besides his dog, Murphy, his only friend is the whisky bottle.
As I've said, the characters are quite interesting, and you haven't even heard the story. Well, there will be all kinds of twists and turns in it, just like in a Greek tragedy, and the end seems just as inevitable as that of a Greek tragedy. One of the big issues is Dora's sort of coming of age and finding herself. The other story is Michael's constant fight with himself and his fight for his soul and that of the others, especially Toby.

Oh, and don't forget the bell itself, which is an important symbol and seems to have a mesmerizing power over the fate of the community, particularly upon Dora. It is referred to in the two main sermons of the story, given by James and Michael. I haven't told much about James Typer Pace, yet. Well, he is not that interesting because he always does and preaches the right thing, that's why Nick calls him the only true saint in the community. I won't go into analyzing the sermons because it's not a lecture, and I don't remember much anyway. There is a crucial difference between them, however. Whereas James says always to do the right thing without considering our personality and second best alternatives, Michael preaches that firstly we should know ourselves to know what we are capable of, and act accordingly. Michael is a controversial figure because he has sinned. Although James says that one shouldn't go on pondering his interesting personality and the nature of his sins, these are of constant interest for Michael, and I believe for a writer, too.
Seduction is a recurring theme of the book and I started to wonder if it takes too. Last week for example I was a bit scared and outraged by the fact that I would be alone with one of the students this week as the other members are abroad on business. He often makes flirtatious jokes, some of which sound too personal for me. He has also several times offered to give me a lift. After all this being a chaste (and somewhat paranoid) girl I felt a bit threatened, though it seems a bit ridiculous to think of someone being raped in a glass cage at a multinational company, or on the motorway in a family car. Especially if we take into consideration the relation of teacher and student, though that itself sounds ridiculous to me, the student being about fifteen years the elder of the teacher. Then today it took place after all, I mean my lesson with the guy. It turned out all right, except that I couldn't help noticing how handsome he was. We were practicing the use of the Second Conditional, and when I (the book) asked if he would like to change anything in his physical appearance, he said no, he's satisfied with himself. These are those men's utterances which can be both appalling and appealing at the same time. And this guy is a real adventurer, with all kinds of extreme hobbies from archery to wrestling. And his kids do sumo and judo, and what not, already at the age of ten. So, back to the question, who is then the seducer? Not that I actually did anything. I wonder if like Dora, I'm a bitch, too. Or does the slight difference between act and thought count? Am I to suffer fierce sexual desire and self-accusation the rest of my life? What is it in sex that makes it designed for two exclusively? Meaning of course that the two don't mate with anyone else as long as their relationship lasts. I'm asking it for philosophy's sake, you see. Wouldn't it be a relief to give in to temptation from time to time and have a beastly clash of forces? People do have it, only it's not that easy to go on after that. So I resolve to put these thoughts in a drawer at the back of my mind, and perhaps turn into creative energy later on.
Now, if you're still with me, all I can say is this book is really worth reading, and I would be just so glad if I had someone to talk it over with. I wonder if I should start a book club in English? I mean the books would be in English, not discussion itself. We could meet once a month, and I might let others decide (suggest) what to read. Anyone interested, let me know.

P.S. I haven't mentioned how elaborate the language of the book was. It was full of nice-sounding words that I should have looked up to get a full enjoyment of her writing. There were some Latin and French expressions and sayings, too, and I take it as one of my deficiencies that I can't as yet understand those. Speaking of which, I should start learning French as soon as I earn a decent salary. Speaking of which, the guy remembered my mentioning some two months ago that I'd like to learn Spanish and French, and it's always a good thing to have people remembering your cherished little dreams.
P.P.S. I met one of the girls from my ex group on Friday, and she said they all miss my style and sense of humor, which is touching. In such moments I almost regret my wanting to quit this job.