Power and Enchantment in Iris Murdoch''s The Flight from the Enchanter

• Main Authors: Mei-hui Lee, 李美慧
• Other Authors: Chang-fang Chen; Ming-tu Yang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 1994
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/66220381898648937073

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 西洋語文研究所 === 82 === Power and Enchantment are obviously two dominant themes in Iris Murdoch''s The Flight from the Enchanter. In fact, they are two different facets of the same thing. With analysis of this thesis I will argue that the factors, which establish Mischa Fox as a power figure, also render him an enchanter. A description of the power relation of the characters demonstrates not only the ubiquity of power but also the innermost desire in human nature to pursue or escape from power. Enchantment is a process in which weak people tend to submit themselves to a binding spell or self-imposed fantasy instead of confronting the pain and pleasure of reality. Once awakened to the crisis of identity and disillusionment, escape seems the only solution. Murdoch''s pessimistic view toward power and human nature makes the novel a haunting shade of the demonic existence of Mischa Fox. Although skeptical of the possibility of human freedom, Murdoch seems to offer a dim hope for us in this novel that only through love and self- knowledge can we find our way out of the labyrinthine human condition.