A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch

A Fairly Honourable Defeat provided the book club with plenty to talk about. Whilst the majority of the book club members did not enjoy the book it certainly provoked strong reactions in its readers. It was generally agreed that the characters lacked depth and were used mercilessly by Ms Murdoch as vehicles to explore ideas and moral "muddles". The characters are unlikeable; it is hard to feel any degree of empathy with them, yet we feel a compelling need to follow them through a series of unlikely plot devices to their inevitable "defeat". They are brought low (if such can be said - though this was open to discussion) not so much through the machinations of Julius King as by their own moral turpitude.  The book abounds with literary devices (not least a broken telephone and a car that refuses to start!) that strain belief and leave the reader feeling that Ms Murdoch should have shown more restraint.

Thematically the book deals with what it means to be a "moral" being; the easy complacency of upper/middle-class suburban life; individuals that fail to engage with each other in an open, honest and empathetic manner. Hilda and Rupert represent the smug face of suburbia whose self-congratulatory veneer is disrupted with very little effort by Julius's manipulations. They are victims of their own failings: it is vanity that kills Rupert; all the characters are ready to believe the worst about each other. Deception figures large as a theme of the novel, the readiness with which the characters dupe each other suggests the easy corruptibility of their morals, even Tallis colludes in deceiving Leonard as to the seriousness of his illness. Leonard "owns" his life surely Tallis should respect this aspect of his embittered parent? The readers' reaction to Morgan is one of strong aversion, she is amoral, unable to respond to others in mature and responsible fashion, her self-absoption leaves no room for real feeling. The dislocation between true feeling and the verisimilitude of emotion also provides a reflection on the moral character of the protagonists. Simon and Axel, are as prone to self-deceit and dishonesty as the other characters in the novel but value their relationship and have sufficient respect for one another that in crisis respond openly and honestly to each other and are rewarded  by the "happiest" resolution in the novel.

Devices abound in the novel to further the moral dialogue between author and reader - some of these are obscure and not fully developed, for example, the appearance of the ghost of Tallis's sister left the book club confused. In fact, Ms Murdoch used some fairly heavy-handed interventions to further the plot and increase the "muddle".

There is much in A Fairly Honourable Defeat that left many of the book club readers frustrated and critical of the novel, however it is a testament to Ms Murdoch's skill that the novel promoted a heated debate and all who read it were challenged to examine the moral dilemmas presented by the characters.