In A Severed Head, Iris Murdoch crafts a narrative that critiques the superficial nature of bourgeois society, a theme she has explored in other works such as The Flight from the Enchanter, The Bell, and The Time of the Angels. Murdoch's portrayal of society mirrors that found in the works of authors like George Bernard Shaw, E. M. Forster, and Virginia Woolf, where characters are often depicted as emotionally detached, valuing decorum and appearances over genuine connection and passion. This world, inhabited by characters like Martin and Antonia, is one where the heart rarely engages with the mind, resulting in a civilization that feels hollow and disconnected.

Unlike novelists such as William Golding, who expose the underlying barbarism of human nature once social masks are removed, Murdoch, influenced by Freudian and Jungian psychology, suggests a more optimistic view. She posits that beneath the surface lies a spiritual essence aligned with instinct and passion, a latent potential for transformation and self-discovery. This transformative journey is a recurrent theme in Murdoch’s work, where characters often experience symbolic rebirths and achieve deeper self-awareness. Through her writing, Murdoch champions the belief in humanity’s capacity to evolve, shedding old selves to embrace more profound, spiritually fulfilling relationships.

John Gardner's perspective in On Moral Fiction resonates with Murdoch’s art, as he argues that true art reveals what is essential to our humanity. Murdoch's oeuvre, with its focus on moral and philosophical explorations, embodies this kind of art, encouraging readers to contemplate the complexities of the human psyche and the potential for spiritual growth.

Murdoch's novel A Severed Head was also adapted into a play, a collaboration with J. B. Priestley. The theatrical adaptation premiered in Bristol in 1963 and enjoyed a successful two-and-a-half-year run in London before being made into a film by Columbia Pictures in 1970. Although the play is rarely performed today, the film occasionally screens in museums and art houses, marking Murdoch's only internationally successful stage work.

Priestley's contribution primarily involved restructuring the narrative for the stage, yet Murdoch's distinctive characters and motifs are unmistakably present. The character of Honor, for instance, is Jewish, reflecting Murdoch’s use of ethnic identity to suggest unique attributes, a technique she employed with characters like Julius King in A Fairly Honorable Defeat. Meanwhile, Martin embodies the archetypal Murdoch protagonist—a man blinded by self-deception who only confronts reality after significant trials, such as when Antonia leaves him for Palmer.

The play also showcases Murdoch’s fondness for symmetrical romantic pairings, a device she frequently employed in her novels, including Nuns and Soldiers, which features multiple romantic entanglements. In A Severed Head, the intricate web of lovers' couplings and separations is woven with irony and wit, embodying the irrationality of human relationships while maintaining an underlying humor. This blend of complexity and insight makes Murdoch’s work both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant, offering a critical yet hopeful examination of human nature.