Fluid Identity and Oceanic Instability: A Blue Humanities Reading of The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

Abstract

This research is based on the Blue Humanities reading of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea and aims to investigate the concepts of fluid Identity and emotional instability. Blue Humanities is an approach that reframes a critical perspective from a land-based perspective to a dynamic marine environment and its connection to human experience in literature and culture. The sea is a physical place, but also a psychological and symbolic place, representing the sense of instability and change in modern Identity. This instability is manifested in the main character, Charles Arrowby, whose memories, desires and subjective impressions are in conflict. Not only is he an emotionally unstable character, but the ocean, like him, is not fixed, not coherent, fluid and fractured, constantly changing. The ocean remains metaphorical in its role in self-construction, psychological struggles, and reflection as the study continues. The overall findings of this research will add to current knowledge in the field by taking an interdisciplinary approach, combining environmental theory with insights into psychological aspects, and emphasizing the importance of oceanic metaphors in the perception of the complex nature of modern human Identity.