In A Severed Head of Iris Murdoch, the novel's protagonist, Martin Lynch-Gibbon, undergoes a series of revelations that force him to become more aware of realities of his life. This essay will examine how Murdoch infuses the novel with elements of Freudian psychology to develop Martin's movement from the unconscious to reality. Changing Relationships With the opening of the novel and the rapid progression from one event to the next, the reader quickly realizes that its narrator, Martin Lynch-Gibbon, is not completely aware of the realities concerning him or those of the people who surround it. Although he considers his marriage “perfectly happy and successful” (p14), he has nevertheless kept a young mistress, Georgie Hands, for several years. With his wife's confession that she is having an affair with her psychoanalyst (and Martin's good friend) Palmer Anderson, Martin slowly begins to realize that his life may no longer be what it once seemed; other plot twists emphasize this, and Antonia reveals to Martin near the end of the novel that she has been deeply in love with his brother, Alexander, since before their marriage. To add to this convolution, Martin falls desperately in love with Honor Klein, who has an incestuous relationship with her brother Anderson. A Severed Head is therefore certainly steeped in somewhat confusing and ever-changing relationships, but the central reality of Martin's life for much of the novel is his relationship with his wife, Antonia. In fact, his marriage defines every other relationship in his life. Antonia explains to Martin precisely why their marriage failed: "It's partly because I'm much older and I'm a kind of mother to you. I stopped you from growing up. Al...... middle of paper.... ..tening finally through irony "You too, my dear!" (p205) With their love now out of the unconscious, Martin and Honor move towards a relationship based on reality and not. on the falsity that is often accepted as happiness Conclusion Iris Murdoch's use of elements of Freudian psychology in A Severed Head is masterful (indeed, many elements in the novel parallel Freud's own desires: he (There has been debate about Freud's childhood incestuous desires and his possible bisexuality.) By centering the novel on Freud's Oedipal complex and castration anxiety, and using symbolic dreams, Murdoch creates a brilliant novel in its depiction of a character's movement from the shadows of the unconscious into the bright reality of real life. Iris. A severed head. New York: Penguin, 1986.