Iris Murdoch 

Iris Murdoch was a writer and also a moral philosopher. It is important to know the discussion about morality and moral philosophy in that period to understand Murdoch's books. She participated in the war as a volunteer worker. She observed war and its impact on British society. She was a part of the intellectual world of London. She is a hybrid person, she is not pure English. Her novel has some autobiographical impacts (especially the fact that her mother gave up her drama education when she married, which affected her). She defines herself as an Irish writer. She has a motto: “He conquers who conquers himself”. You have to know yourself to know the outside world. 'Know yourself'.

Marksizm was very popular in that period. People were angry towards the system like industrialism. That is why Marksizm is like a way out. However, later on, when the Marksist countries like Russia became very oppressive, the Western Marksists realized that it was also a very oppressive system. Many people like Iris Murdoch left their Marxist ideas and parties. She does not make war themes the main themes in her novels even if she serves in war. Iris's novels are often based on moral philosophy. Iris studies some traditions that date back thousands of years and considers them as universal. She was a member of the communist party so she was not accepted for education in America, she could not get a visa.

She wrote 27 novels. She married John Bailey, a famous literary critic of his time. She claims that a work of art should teach something and this teaching should be based on ethics or morality. She says a kind of morality should be imposed on the reader. She does not talk about the psychology of the writers but the characters, the human being in general. A work of art should reflect human beings in general.