I have an intense love for this book, yet I find myself completely at a loss as to how to make sense of it. It truly is like a unicorn in its own right: whenever you attempt to explain it, you end up sounding utterly crazy. How seriously should one take it? And yet, could it not be the most serious thing that has ever existed?

This is my very first encounter with Murdoch. I am reading her works because I came across an interesting article recently that proposed that she and I share some overlapping ideas regarding morality. As I delve into this book, I suspect that it is more than just that. We have some overlapping and intersecting ways of being in the world and interacting with other people, with congruent preoccupations.

I desire to contrast her with Mieville, whom I found to be so hard – not difficult in the sense of complexity, but rather hard-edged. I bounced off the surface of his works; he kept me at a great distance. This, on the other hand, is the complete opposite: there is no surface, only interpretations, and we are already deeply immersed from the very beginning. Way inside, just like Effingham sinking in the swamp.

(That's the one aspect that I didn't quite believe: why didn't that sinking have a more profound impact on him?)

And this may not make any rational sense, but you see, that is the crux of the matter: we are both neo-touchy-feely-ists. The most significant sense is the intuitive sense.

(I really like this, but I am gently suggesting that I am unable to determine if it is a good book by any objective measure. But then again, I don't suppose it necessarily has to be.)

★★★★☆

"El unicornio" was published in 1963. After several years of her career as a writer, it is considered one of the most unique and original works of Iris Murdoch. One day I came across this book and knew it would be the first one I read of its author, but now I know it won't be the last.

The story begins when Marian, a young governess eager for a change in life, accepts a job in the castle of Gaze. A place that is equally beautiful and阴森, where the ravines and cliffs take center stage and where she will meet Hannah. The latter lives locked up and guarded by a series of the most curious characters. Marian will refuse to accept this situation and little by little will be uncovering the dark mystery.
The character of Hannah is the center of everything, an enigma to be solved, a sublime being who carries the feeling of guilt, who admits her condemnation and who makes her a prisoner of her own sacrifice and suffering. In turn, she causes admiration and love in everyone who surrounds her, even causing jealousy and envy among them. No one can guess if she is really as pure as she seems and that creates an exacerbated confusion.
One of the most charming points of the novel is the exquisite setting. We experience a transfer to another era during the narration (although really the book takes place in the 20th century) which is disconcerting and curious at the same time, because it seems that time has stopped in the setting of the castle of Gaze. The descriptions are accurate and especially disturbing, managing to make the drama unfold before our eyes with majesty.
In conclusion, we will find between the pages of this work many moral, religious and philosophical dilemmas that are intertwined with Gothic novel tints and magical and fantastic hints. We are facing a writing that disconcerts and that gives us the possibility of looking for several meanings in the reading and in its various characters that could well be concepts. Endowed with an enviable, seasoned and magnificent narration.

This book is truly one of Iris Murdoch's most remarkable and captivating novels.

It is set in a secluded and mysterious castle located on the West coast of Ireland.

The desolate and wild landscape of the Irish coast provides a perfect backdrop for the unfolding of the story.

The castle, with its ancient walls and towers, seems to hold countless secrets and mysteries within its confines.

As the reader delves into the pages of this novel, they are transported to a world of passion, drama, and intrigue.

The characters are vividly drawn and their relationships are complex and nuanced.

The plot twists and turns, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat until the very end.

This novel is a must-read for anyone who loves atmospheric and engaging literature.

Una institutriz llega al castillo donde vive prisionera una hermosa princesa, rodeada por una curiosa corte y enmarcada en un entorno amenazador de elevados acantilados y ciénagas traicioneras. Esta es una historia ambientada en los años 50-60 del siglo pasado, con un planteamiento de otra época.

La institutriz, como Mariam Taylor, llega al castillo arrastrada por el deseo de dar un giro a su vida. Al igual que yo, terminé perplejo la lectura de esta inaudita y extravagante historia. Cada escena, tomada individualmente, nos revela algo interesante, bello o sugerente. Pero el problema surge cuando queremos abarcar el conjunto y desentrañar las relaciones y actuaciones cruzadas de estos personajes que a veces parecen inverosímiles, más como ideas o símbolos que como personas reales. Quizás este sea el punto fuerte del libro, provocar nuestro desconcierto y obligarnos a darle sentido.

Hannah es la representación del sentimiento de culpa que la mantiene prisionera de sí misma y que intenta redimir a través del sufrimiento. Todo gira en torno a ella, pero son Mariam y Effingham Cooper, los dos elementos foráneos, quienes abren y cierran la historia, detonan la tragedia y salen transformados. Ambos se rebelan ante la realidad a la que se ha resignado Hannah y se resisten a creer que ella la haya aceptado libremente.

La novela también trata de la dificultad de aceptar a las personas tal como son, de respetar sus elecciones y de la necesidad que tenemos de intervenir en sus vidas con el peligro que ello conlleva. Además, el amor, sea cual sea su objeto, es otro de los grandes temas, y con él vienen asociados muchos conceptos como sumisión, celos, poder, deseo, libertad, odio, felicidad, egoísmo, sexo, destino y miedo.

En resumen, esta novela no defraudará a los que, como yo, amamos a esta autora y a sus sugerentes, enigmáticos y siempre encantadoramente presentados dilemas morales y filosóficos.