A post-christian concept of martyrdom and the Murdochian chorus

the one alone and T. S. Eliot's murder in the cathedral

Frances White

pp. 177-191

in: Anne Rowe, Avril Horner (eds), Iris Murdoch, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012

Abstract

In The One Alone and Murder in the Cathedral, Iris Murdoch and T.S. Eliot both interrogate the concept and cultural impact of martyrdom, he from a Christian, she from a post-Christian perspective.⁴The One Alone pays homage to Eliot's work which Murdoch had long known well: in 1940, whilst an undergraduate at Somerville College, she played the Leader of the Chorus in a performance of Murder in the Cathedral at Christ Church, Oxford.⁵ Her copy of the play, which is inscribed "Iris Murdoch Oxford 1940", is held in the Iris Murdoch Special Collections in Kingston University Archives.⁶ Pencilled marginalia mark her lines to speak and give directions to kneel, sit or stand. The experience of learning and performing Eliot's rhythms formed a lasting influence on Murdoch's writing which feeds covertly into the diverse choruses in her novels, as well as overtly into The One Alone.⁷

Cited authors

Eliot T S

Murdoch Iris