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A severed head

by Iris Murdoch · October 1, 1988

Cover of A severed head
Popularity 34

Martin Lynch-Gibbon believes he can possess both a beautiful wife and a delightful lover. But when his wife, Antonia, suddenly leaves him for her psychoanalyst, Martin is plunged into an intensive emotional re-education. He attempts to behave beautifully and sensibly. Then he meets a woman whose demonic splendour at first repels him and later arouses a consuming and monstrous passion. As his Medusa informs him, 'this is nothing to do with happiness'.

Man-woman relationshipsFictionBritish and irish fiction (fictional works by one author)Classic LiteratureLiteraturerelationshipslovemarriagefriends and loversFiction in EnglishInterpersonal relationsSocial life and customs
A severed head by Iris Murdoch — book · Vinony