For a novel with an unreliable male narrator who demonstrates quite a lot of sexism and misogyny, The Black Prince has some surprisingly insightful things to say about women and femininity.
That probably has something to do with the tension between Iris Murdoch's authorial perspective and Bradley Pearson's perspective as the novel's primary narrator. Despite the fact that Bradley is often oblivious to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the women in his life, somehow the novel manages to let their perspectives shine through, even if we do have to read between the lines in order to see them properly.
Questions About Women and Femininity
- Which adult woman is represented in the most positive terms in Bradley Pearson's narrative, and which aspects of her actions and identity does Bradley see as being positive?
- Throughout The Black Prince, Bradley Pearson has a habit of representing women with animalistic imagery. Is this imagery ever positive? If so, when and why?
- Throughout The Black Prince, which negative qualities are associated with women and femininity specifically? Are there any positive qualities that are attributed specifically to women and girls?
Chew on This
Although Bradley Pearson is a misogynistic narrator, The Black Prince is not a misogynistic novel. Bradley's dim view of women and femininity is challenged in subtle ways by Iris Murdoch's own authorial perspective, and by showing us that Bradley isn't a wholly reliable narrator, Murdoch also demonstrates that his views on women are often narrow and flawed.
In The Black Prince, Francis Marloe argues that Bradley Pearson's views on women and femininity have been shaped by a particularly acute Oedipus complex. On the whole, the novel suggests that Francis is wrong: Bradley is motivated by Platonic feelings (the sense that the highest forms of love can only be experienced between boys and men, or between men and philosophical ideals) much more than by a thwarted love for (and corresponding anger towards) his mother.