Nuns and Soldiers (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Iris Murdoch
- First Published: 1980
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: 1977-1978
- Setting: London, England, and Provence, in the south of France
- Principal Characters: Anne Cavidge, Peter Szczepanski, Gertrude Openshaw, Guy Openshaw, Tim Reede, Daisy Barrett
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Philosophical realism
- Subjects: 1970’s, France or French people, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Love or romance, Art or artists, Religion, Friendship, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Obsession, England or English people, Cancer, Feminism, Lesbianism or lesbians, Death or dying, Good and evil, London, Remarriage, Women’s movement, Christ figures or saviors, Wealth, Convents or nunneries, Nuns
- Locales: France, London, England
Form and Content
Nuns and Soldiers, set in London and the south of France in the twelve months before the summer of 1978, tells the story of an upper-middle-class English family. The novel’s title refers to Iris Murdoch’s themes: withdrawal from the world and soldiering on through life despite disappointments. The nun is Anne Cavidge, a former nun who comes to live with Gertrude Openshaw; the soldier is Peter Szczepanski, from a Polish émigré family. The two are similar in their aloneness, their awkwardness, and their simplicity; they share the desire to do good....
[The entire page is 2425 words long]
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