Iris Murdoch on Literature and Love

Dame Iris and her husband, John Bayley

“Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” 

“Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception of individuals. Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Love, and so art and morals, is the discovery of reality.” 

"Literature could be said to be a sort of disciplined technique for arousing certain emotions."

“We defend ourself with descriptions and tame the world by generalizing”

“Human affairs are not serious, but they have to be taken seriously.”