ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Dublin in 1919, Iris Murdoch was an esteemed Irish-British writer and philosopher. Murdoch was known for her novels that seamlessly blended psychological insight with philosophical underpinnings. Educated at Somerville College in Oxford and Newnham College in Cambridge, Murdoch was a fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford.
Her writing career spanned several decades, during which she published numerous novels, philosophical works, and plays. Her most notable works include The Bell (1958), The Black Prince (1973), and The Sea, The Sea (1978). Murdoch’s literary prowess earned her many an accolade, including the Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea. Her novels stand out for their complex characterization, moral philosophy, and intricate plots.
SYNOPSIS (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)
The Sea, The Sea is a complex narrative centered around Charles Arrowby, a renowned figure in the British theater scene. Arrowby is a known actor, playwright, director, and womanizer. The novel unfolds from Charles’ first-person narrative, sometimes resembling a journal, capturing his experiences during a transformative summer later in his life.
The story begins with Charles’ retirement from the theater, which he perceives as superficial. Seeking tranquility, he moves to a house near the coast, Shruff End, where he aspires a simpler, purer life detached from his past emotional entanglements and habits. However, uninvited guests keep disrupting his solitude. Most of these visitors are his former lovers, including Lizzie, Gilbert Opian, and Rosina, throwing light on the unresolved aspects of his past. His letters also reveal his childhood and the events that shaped his worldview.
Lizzie, with her enduring affection for Charles, represents a part of his past that he cannot easily escape. Gilbert Opian, a figure from his theatrical yesteryear, and Rosina, another ex-lover who is dramatic and emotionally violent, bring the chaos of Charles’ London life to his doorstep.
James Arrowby, Charles’ cousin, stands in stark contrast to Charles. With his Buddhist leanings and mysterious background involving espionage, James offers a more contemplative and philosophical outlook on life.
Peregrine and Benjamin, friends from Charles’ social and professional circles, add to the dynamic of his former life encroaching upon his present. Their interactions with Charles provide a fuller picture of his personality, highlighting his complexities and contradictions.
As these characters intersect with Charles’ life at Shruff End, they create a complex web of relationships that challenge his understanding of himself and others.
One pivotal incident in the book is when Charles recognizes his childhood sweetheart, Hartley, in a near-accident outside his house. The two shared a deep, platonic love in their youth. They even planned to get married before Hartly abruptly ended their relationship and disappeared, a loss that deeply affected Charles’ subsequent relationships.
His re-encounter with Hartley ignites Charles’ obsessive desire to rekindle their past relationship. Amidst this disorder, Hartley’s husband looms as a silent yet impactful figure. Charles views him through a lens of rivalry and disdain, seeing him as an obstacle to his reunion with Hartley; as an abusive husband. He soon begins to misinterpret Hartley’s reluctance to revisit their shared past. This bias dictates many of Charles’ actions and interpretation of the events around him. In a drastic move, Charles confines Hartley in his house, but she eventually convinces him to let her go.
After Hartley leaves, Charles’ life at Shruff End superficially normalizes until a drunken incident leads to him being pushed out into the sea. He barely survives, mistakenly believing that James rescued him. Tragedy strikes once again when Titus, Hartley’s adopted son, who had been staying with Charles and whom Charles had grown fond of, drowns in the ocean. These events plunge Charles deeper into delusional thoughts, for which he blames Hartley and her husband.
Ultimately, Charles learns that he was pushed into the sea by an ex-lover’s ex-husband. Hartley and her husband decide to emigrate to Australia, and Charles realizes his perceived control over his friends is illusory as they move on with their lives. Following James’ mysterious death, Charles inherits his estate, prompting him to sell Shruff End and return to London.
Murdoch masterfully uses interactions throughout the novel to explore themes of love, delusion, the pursuit of ideals, and the stark difference between our inner motivations and the personas we present to the world. Ultimately, these experiences lead Charles to a deeper, albeit painful, self-awareness. By the time he heads back to London, he is a changed person. As he processes his experiences and emotions, he gradually re-engages with his former wife, implying that his journey of self-discovery has come full circle.
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THE SEA, THE SEA
The Sea, The Sea stands out for its deep emotional insight and stylistic elegance. Murdoch adroitly crafts the protagonist’s complex psyche through an introspective narrative. Her use of intricate symbolism is particularly striking, with the sea serving as a powerful metaphor for Charles Arrowby’s never-ending, violent inner conflicts.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER ABOUT THE SEA, THE SEA
While the novel’s detailed characterization is its strength, the book is too bulky for its own good. The overly dense introspection only makes reading an onerous endeavor. Furthermore, Arrowby’s egocentric, obsessive behavior might be off-putting for some. It actually makes it all the more difficult to empathize with the protagonist.
QUOTES
We are such inward secret creatures, that inwardness the most amazing thing about us, even more amazing than our reason. But we cannot just walk into the cavern and look around. Most of what we think we know about our minds is pseudo-knowledge. We are all such shocking poseurs, so good at inflating the importance of what we think we value.
emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. In the middle they are acted. This is why all the world is a stage.
The theatre is an attack on mankind carried on by magic: to victimize an audience every night, to make them laugh and cry and suffer and miss their trains. Of course actors regard audiences as enemies, to be deceived, drugged, incarcerated, stupefied. This is partly because the audience is also a court against which there is no appeal.
CONCLUSION
Murdoch’s skillful combination of emotional depth and eloquent writing makes The Sea, The Sea a compelling read for anyone with a thing for psychological plots and character-driven stories. The novel has timeless philosophical undercurrents, which force readers to reflect on their own experiences and belief systems. As such, this is a contemplative read not suited for light reading. Teenage readers and adults should bear this in mind before picking this book up.
A reverential admirer of words, Madhu loves watching them weave their bewitching magic on cozy afternoons.