The Integration of the Self is a literary, socio-psychological study of human relationships as shown by authors of their female characters. In an effort to highlight the distinctive features of two important contemporary British women novelists of renown, Iris Murdoch and Margaret Drabble, this book examines the novelists’ different approaches to human problems in general and to the problems of women in particular. This study investigates both writers’ concepts of the twentieth century woman, and their views about the relation between characters as well as the impact of the past on the future. It also emphasizes the disparities and similarities that exist between the concerns uppermost in Murdoch’s mind and the topics closest to Drabble’s heart.
The study is expected to prove-through the analysis of the novels and the personal interviews the author has conducted with Murdoch and Drabble-that they are two different personalities who have, save nationality, language, university education, and place of residence, little in common. By stressing the most important characteristics that distinguish one novelist from another, this book hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the two authors and their works.