THE PRINCIPLES OF THE WORD PLAY AND MYTHOLOGY IN IRIS MURDOCK’S LATE NOVELS

Abstract

The paper touches upon the features of Iris Murdock’s works, particularly, the role and the functions of the actings in the author's late novels. It reveals one of the most important features, that characterizes all these works, i.e. the acknowledgment of the impossibility of perceiving the world. An attempt is made to identify postmodern features of the characters in her late novels, such as the multiple reinterpretation of reality at different levels, interweaving structure of texts in literary and cultural elements of the past eras. The author’s desire to preserve the traditional features of English literature, i.e. harmony, objectiveness, didacticism, is emphasized. These specific features of postmodern and traditional principles make Iris Murdock’s later novels unique.