All human beings have a deep need for necessity in their lives. We want to know why we exist, we want to understand the world and its secrets, and we want to know our place in the world. Concepts like religion and philosophy are concerned with those questions and try to provide answers to them. Nevertheless, there are still no satisfying explanations. This is due to the fact that “our actual lived experience has no form or unity in itself, but is full of contingent rubble, accident, and unsystematized detail which may resist our attempts at unity” (Antonaccio & Schweiker, Human Goodness 111). As our world is contingent, it cannot be completely understood. Consequently, we should accept its contingency instead of denying it by trying to find an explanation to everything.
The stress ratio between contingency and necessity is also the theme of Iris Murdoch’s first novel Under the Net. Throughout the novel, the protagonist Jake Donaghue searches for his own identity and for a master theory which is able to explain the world (cf. Porter, Leitmotiv 379). In the end, he realizes that he has to change his attitude towards contingency.
In the following, I will try to find reasons for the change of Jake’s attitude, and I will describe the consequences of this change. In order to be able to do this, I will first provide a definition of the term ‘contingency’ and place it in the context of philosophy in chapter 2. Afterwards, I will explain some essential aspects of contingency in the novel in chapter 3. In chapter 4, I will have a look at Jake’s changing attitude towards contingency in the course of the novel in order to, finally, be able to find reasons for the change and to describe its consequences in chapter 5 and 6.
At a glance
- Grade: 1.3 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Examines contingency through individuals, language and art in Under the Net
- Analyses Jake’s misinterpretations of people, situations and feelings
- 22 sources in the bibliography
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Definition and Theoretical Background of ‘Contingency’
3. Contingency in Under the Net
3.1 Contingency and Individuals
3.2 Contingency and Language
3.3 Contingency and Art
4. Jake Donaghue’s Changing Attitude towards Contingency
4.1 Jake’s Attitude at the Beginning
4.2 Contingency in Jake’s Life
4.3 Jake’s Change
5. Reasons for the Change in Jake’s Attitude
5.1 The Influence of Other Characters
5.1.1 Hugo’s Influence
5.1.2 Anna’s Influence
5.1.3 Jean Pierre’s Influence
5.1.4 Dave’s Influence
5.2 Misinterpretations
6. Consequences of the Change
7. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines contingency in Iris Murdoch’s Under the Net, asking why Jake Donaghue’s attitude towards contingency changes and what consequences follow. It situates the novel within philosophical discussions of contingency and considers how Jake’s relationships and interpretations shape his development.
- Philosophical understandings of contingency and necessity
- Individuality, language and artistic representation
- Jake’s search for identity and explanatory certainty
- The influence of Hugo, Anna, Jean Pierre and Dave
- Misinterpretation and the recognition of other people
- The relationship between contingency and creative writing
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Contingency and Individuals
As one expects against the background of Murdoch’s theory, the characters of Under the Net are all contingent. Moreover, she believes that the characters of a novel must be constructed as if their characteristics were a part of their personality instead of being imposed by the author (cf. Culley, Theory and Practice 341). In other words, not all characteristics and actions of a character can be explained in the context of the novel’s plot. This is clearly the case for the characters of Under the Net.
As I have already mentioned before, Murdoch emphasises the importance for an individual to respect the contingency of other persons. “Thus the central moral imperative of her work is the imperative of unselfing, the overcoming of the self-centeredness that prevents us from loving others as separate existences” (Gordon, Fables of Unselfing 7). This imperative of unselfing also applies for the characters of Under the Net. At the beginning, Jake Donaghue is, however, not able to comply with it. He has a permanent urge to decode the personalities of other persons (cf. for example Murdoch, UTN 14). According to Sartre, this urge is a characteristic of humans (cf. Murdoch, The Sublime and the Beautiful Revisited 255). In this respect, Jake can be seen as a representative of humankind.
The best example for the denial of every person’s contingency is, however, society as a whole. It constantly tries to force its members into a certain scheme while similarly ignoring their contingency. “[S]ociety is seen as precisely the net which is always coming down to catch us, but which has large or coarse meshes which we can easily escape through, if only later to be caught in other, finer meshes” (Fraser, The Solidity of the Normal 38.). As a result, individuals either deny their own contingency by conforming to society, or they try to escape the pressures of society in order to be able to live out their contingent personalities. No matter what they do, in the end, each of them has to accept that one cannot escape the demands of society. In the novel, the pressure of society on individuals is, on the one hand, conveyed by Dave Gellman, a philosopher. He urges Jake to look for a job. “‘Society should take you by the neck and shake you and make you do a sensible job. Then in your evenings you would have the possibility to write a great book’” (Murdoch, UTN 28). On the other hand, there is, of course, the title which alludes to it. This is, however, not the only possible interpretation of the title. I will come back to its second interpretation later on.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: The paper introduces the tension between contingency and the desire for necessity and outlines its investigation of Jake Donaghue’s changing attitude.
2. Definition and Theoretical Background of ‘Contingency’: This chapter traces philosophical approaches to contingency and considers how Murdoch’s ideas relate to Sartre’s thought and to her concept of the Good.
3. Contingency in Under the Net: The discussion examines contingency in the novel’s form and setting, as well as its connections to individuals, language and art.
4. Jake Donaghue’s Changing Attitude towards Contingency: The paper considers Jake’s initial aversion to contingency, its presence in his life and the development of his attitude over the course of the novel.
5. Reasons for the Change in Jake’s Attitude: This chapter explores the influence of Hugo, Anna, Jean Pierre and Dave, alongside Jake’s misinterpretations of people, situations and feelings.
6. Consequences of the Change: The author discusses the implications of Jake’s changed outlook for his relationships, practical life and writing.
7. Conclusion: The paper brings together its account of the factors behind Jake’s development and their significance for his response to contingency.
Keywords
Iris Murdoch, Under the Net, contingency, necessity, Jake Donaghue, existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre, language, identity, individuality, unselfing, literary interpretation, creative writing, misinterpretation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the paper about?
It examines the role of contingency in Iris Murdoch’s novel Under the Net, focusing on Jake Donaghue’s changing response to it.
What are its main themes?
The paper considers contingency and necessity in relation to individuality, language, art, identity and relationships.
What is the central research question?
The author asks what causes Jake’s attitude towards contingency to change and what consequences that change has.
What method does the author use?
The paper offers a literary interpretation of the novel, drawing on philosophical discussion, passages from Murdoch’s work and literary scholarship.
What does the main analysis cover?
It examines the novel’s treatment of contingency, Jake’s initial outlook, his encounters with other characters and the effects of his misinterpretations.
Which keywords characterise the paper?
Key terms include contingency, necessity, individuality, language, identity, unselfing and creative writing.
How does the paper interpret the image of the net?
It discusses the net as an image that can refer both to social pressures and to the limitations of language in representing reality.
Why is Hugo important to the analysis?
Hugo’s views on particularity, truth and language provide a focal point for the paper’s discussion of Jake’s intellectual and creative development.
How does the paper approach Jake’s misinterpretations?
It groups them into interpretations of people, situations and feelings, relating them to his desire for certainty.
- Quote paper
- Saskia Bachner (Author), 2008, Contingency in Iris Murdoch's "Under the Net", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/114252
