Iris Murdoch is a philosophical novelist whose works provide a suitable case for the study of “philosophy in literature” and “literature as philosophy.” However, so far, chiefly the philosophical positions of Murdoch herself have been applied to her fictional works. Employing Gilles Deleuzeʼs ethical theory, the present essay offers a resistant reading and sheds new light on Murdoch’s second novel The Flight from the Enchanter (1956). Focusing on the character of Annette Cockeyne, this essay shows how oneʼs life consists of a set of encounters with other bodies, all striving for gaining more power. Annetteʼs struggle with nihilism and ressentiment and her attempt to discover the immanent logic of life are discussed with sufficient textual evidence and, finally, considering the criteria provided by Deleuzean ethics, it is argued whether she is an active / strong or a reactive / weak force in this fictional universe. Thus, by critiquing traditional, transcendent readings of Murdochʼs fiction, the present essay actualizes some of the virtual aspects of her fiction so far overlooked and, by adopting a novel strategy within Deleuzean criticism, this study also forges a new path for this approach to narrative fiction.
