Death as an Opportunity: A Gerontological Approach to T. S. Eliot’s The Elder Statesman and Iris Murdoch’s Bruno’s Dream
Abstract This study delves into the perspective of death as an opportunity to reflect on the transcendental meaning of life as depicted in two literary works by two renowned authors: the Anglo-American poet and playwright T.S. Eliot, and the Anglo-Irish writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch. The works under examination encompass different genres, with The Elder Statesman (1959) being a play and Bruno's Dream (1969) a novel. Aging studies emphasize the relevance of life review as a practice that can provide coherence and assist in resolving the existential crisis between integrity and despair. Both authors employ old age and life review to explore the themes of confession, forgiveness, and redemption. As Bruno and Claverton, protagonists in both works, approach the end of their lives, they come to a realization that love serves as the ultimate source of meaning in life.
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Browne, E. Martin. The Making of T. S. Eliot’s Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.
Butler, Robert N. «The Life Review: An Interpretation of Reminiscence in the Aged». Psychiatry, 1963, 26(1), pp. 65-76.
Das, Jolly. T. S. Eliot’s Prismatic Plays: A Mulfifaceted Quest. New Delhi: Atlantic, 2007.
Davis, Oliver. Age Rage and Going Gently: Stories of the Senescent Subject in Twentieth-Century French Writing. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006.
DeFalco, Amelia. Uncanny Subjects: Aging in Contemporary Narrative. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2010.
Dobrée, Bonamy. «The London Stage. Eliot, T. S. The Elder Statesman». The Sewanee Review, 1959, 67(1), pp. 109-117.
Eliot, Thomas S. Cuatro Cuartetos. Ed. Esteban Pujals Gesalí. Madrid: Cátedra, 1990.
Eliot, Thomas S. The Elder Statesman. En The Complete Poems & Plays. London: Faber & Faber, 2004, pp. 521-584.
Eliot, Thomas S. Un político venerable. Trad. Mariángel Soláns García y Dídac Llorens-Cubedo. En Llorens-Cubedo, Dídac y Teresa Gibert (eds.). Teatro Completo. Madrid: Visor, 2023.
Erikson, Erik H. y Joan M. Erikson. The Life Cycle Completed (Extended Version). New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1998.
Gilhooly, Kenneth J. Aging and Creativity. Ed. Mary L. M. Gilhooly. London: Academic Press, 2021.
Grant, Michael. «Henry Hewes, T. S. Eliot at Seventy, and an Interview with Eliot, “Saturday Review”, September 13, 1958». En T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge, pp. 354-358.
Holloway, Richard. On Forgiveness: How can we Forgive the Unforgivable? Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2002.
Kenyon, Gary M. «Telling and Listening to Stories: Creating a Wisdom Environment for Older People». Generations, 2003, 27(3), pp. 30-33 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/telling-listening-stories-creating-wisdom/docview/60104538/se-2 [16 junio 2023].
Lapsley, Daniel K. «Moral Agency, Identity and Narrative in Moral Development». Human Development, 2010, 53(2), pp. 87-97.
Llorens-Cubedo, Dídac. «To Make Love Public, and Publication Justified: T. S. Eliot’s “A Dedication to My Wife” and Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband”». Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos, 2013, 17, pp. 81-96.
Murdoch, Iris. Bruno’s Dream. London: Vintage Classics [versión Kindle], 1969.
Murdoch, Iris. Existentialists and Mystics. Ed. P. Conradi. London: Penguin Books, 1997.
Murdoch, Iris. El sueño de Bruno. Trad. Ángela Pérez y José M. Álvarez Flórez. Barcelona: Lumen, 2006.
Murdoch, Iris. La Salvación por las palabras: ¿Puede la literatura curarnos de los males de la filosofía? Ed. Carlos Jiménez Arribas. Madrid: Siruela, 2018.
Rendón Uribe, María A. «Creatividad y cerebro: Bases neurológicas de la creatividad». Aula, 2009, 15, pp. 117-135.
Said, Edward W. Sobre el estilo tardío: Música y literatura a contracorriente. Ed. Roberto Falcó Miramontes. Barcelona: Debate, 2018.
Smith, Carol H. T. S. Eliot’s Dramatic Theory and Practice: From Sweeney Agonistes to the Elder Statesman. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1967.
Smith, Carol H. «Eliot’s “Divine” Comedies: The Cocktail Party, The Confidential Clerk, and The Elder Statesman». En Chinitz, David E. (ed.). A Companion to T. S. Eliot. Chichester, West Sussex, uk: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, pp. 251-262.
Tornstam, Lars. Gerotranscendence: A Developmental Theory of Positive Aging. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2005.
Tornstam, Lars. «Maturing into Gerotranscendence». Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2011, 43, pp. 166-180.
Westerhof, Gerben J. y Ernst T. Bohlmeijer. «Celebrating Fifty Years of Research and Applications in Reminiscence and Life Review: State of the Art and New Directions». Journal of Aging Studies, 2014, 29(2), pp. 107-114.
White, Frances. «A Post-Christian Concept of Martyrdom and the Murdochian Chorus: The One Alone and T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. En Rowe, Anne y Avril Horner (eds.). Iris Murdoch: Texts and Contexts. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, pp. 177-191.
Butler, Robert N. «The Life Review: An Interpretation of Reminiscence in the Aged». Psychiatry, 1963, 26(1), pp. 65-76.
Das, Jolly. T. S. Eliot’s Prismatic Plays: A Mulfifaceted Quest. New Delhi: Atlantic, 2007.
Davis, Oliver. Age Rage and Going Gently: Stories of the Senescent Subject in Twentieth-Century French Writing. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006.
DeFalco, Amelia. Uncanny Subjects: Aging in Contemporary Narrative. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2010.
Dobrée, Bonamy. «The London Stage. Eliot, T. S. The Elder Statesman». The Sewanee Review, 1959, 67(1), pp. 109-117.
Eliot, Thomas S. Cuatro Cuartetos. Ed. Esteban Pujals Gesalí. Madrid: Cátedra, 1990.
Eliot, Thomas S. The Elder Statesman. En The Complete Poems & Plays. London: Faber & Faber, 2004, pp. 521-584.
Eliot, Thomas S. Un político venerable. Trad. Mariángel Soláns García y Dídac Llorens-Cubedo. En Llorens-Cubedo, Dídac y Teresa Gibert (eds.). Teatro Completo. Madrid: Visor, 2023.
Erikson, Erik H. y Joan M. Erikson. The Life Cycle Completed (Extended Version). New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1998.
Gilhooly, Kenneth J. Aging and Creativity. Ed. Mary L. M. Gilhooly. London: Academic Press, 2021.
Grant, Michael. «Henry Hewes, T. S. Eliot at Seventy, and an Interview with Eliot, “Saturday Review”, September 13, 1958». En T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge, pp. 354-358.
Holloway, Richard. On Forgiveness: How can we Forgive the Unforgivable? Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2002.
Kenyon, Gary M. «Telling and Listening to Stories: Creating a Wisdom Environment for Older People». Generations, 2003, 27(3), pp. 30-33 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/telling-listening-stories-creating-wisdom/docview/60104538/se-2 [16 junio 2023].
Lapsley, Daniel K. «Moral Agency, Identity and Narrative in Moral Development». Human Development, 2010, 53(2), pp. 87-97.
Llorens-Cubedo, Dídac. «To Make Love Public, and Publication Justified: T. S. Eliot’s “A Dedication to My Wife” and Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband”». Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos, 2013, 17, pp. 81-96.
Murdoch, Iris. Bruno’s Dream. London: Vintage Classics [versión Kindle], 1969.
Murdoch, Iris. Existentialists and Mystics. Ed. P. Conradi. London: Penguin Books, 1997.
Murdoch, Iris. El sueño de Bruno. Trad. Ángela Pérez y José M. Álvarez Flórez. Barcelona: Lumen, 2006.
Murdoch, Iris. La Salvación por las palabras: ¿Puede la literatura curarnos de los males de la filosofía? Ed. Carlos Jiménez Arribas. Madrid: Siruela, 2018.
Rendón Uribe, María A. «Creatividad y cerebro: Bases neurológicas de la creatividad». Aula, 2009, 15, pp. 117-135.
Said, Edward W. Sobre el estilo tardío: Música y literatura a contracorriente. Ed. Roberto Falcó Miramontes. Barcelona: Debate, 2018.
Smith, Carol H. T. S. Eliot’s Dramatic Theory and Practice: From Sweeney Agonistes to the Elder Statesman. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1967.
Smith, Carol H. «Eliot’s “Divine” Comedies: The Cocktail Party, The Confidential Clerk, and The Elder Statesman». En Chinitz, David E. (ed.). A Companion to T. S. Eliot. Chichester, West Sussex, uk: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, pp. 251-262.
Tornstam, Lars. Gerotranscendence: A Developmental Theory of Positive Aging. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2005.
Tornstam, Lars. «Maturing into Gerotranscendence». Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2011, 43, pp. 166-180.
Westerhof, Gerben J. y Ernst T. Bohlmeijer. «Celebrating Fifty Years of Research and Applications in Reminiscence and Life Review: State of the Art and New Directions». Journal of Aging Studies, 2014, 29(2), pp. 107-114.
White, Frances. «A Post-Christian Concept of Martyrdom and the Murdochian Chorus: The One Alone and T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. En Rowe, Anne y Avril Horner (eds.). Iris Murdoch: Texts and Contexts. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, pp. 177-191.
Solans García, M. (2023). Death as an Opportunity: A Gerontological Approach to T. S. Eliot’s The Elder Statesman and Iris Murdoch’s Bruno’s Dream. 1616: Anuario De Literatura Comparada, 13, 305–330. https://doi.org/10.14201/1616202313305330
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