A Fairly Honourable Defeat
by Iris Murdoch
“You are preserving your dignity by refusing to show your feelings. But there are moments when love ought to be undignified, extravagant, even violent.”
― Iris Murdoch, A Fairly Honourable Defeat
Hilda and Rupert are a perfect match. Their only concerns are Morgan, Hilda's unstable sister who recently returned from America, and their son, who dropped out. Morgan's ex-lover, Julius, arrives with the intention of mildly upending Rupert and Hilda's seemingly unbreakable marriage. His opponent, Tallis, Morgan's husband, is surprisingly spirited. The conflict between two demonic creatures—one good and one evil—is the subject of this story. It is a fairly honorable defeat for the good, but the evil one prevails.
I was introduced to Iris Murdoch's writing for the first time through this book when it was published in the 1970s. However, I will not go into too much detail about it here other than to say that my youthful impression has been confirmed again and again over the decades. I just say that it is a really gripping, sinister tale that I really liked. Each of the characters was incredibly interesting in their own unique way, and the tense relationships that resulted maintained the level of interest.
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