A Severed Head

MartinLynch-Gibbonisa41-year-oldwell-to-dowinemerchantwhosechildlessmarriagetoanolderwomancalledAntoniahasbeenoneofconvenienceratherthanlove.ItneveroccurstohimthathisongoingaffairwithayoungacademiccalledGeorgiecouldbeimmoral.Displayingquiteanumberofmachoattributesinhisrelationshipswithwomen,Lynch-Gibbonisshockedwhen,outoftheblue,hiswifetellshimthatsheisgoingtoleavehimforPalmerAnderson,herpsychoanalystandafriendofthecouple's,withwhomshehashadasecretaffairforquitesometime.Lynch-GibbonmovesoutoftheirLondonhousebutstilldoesnotwanttopublicizehisaffairwithGeorgie,letalonebecomeengagedtoher.AtroughlythesametimeCupid'sarrowhitsLynch-Gibbonagain.ThistimehefallsforHonorKlein,Anderson'sstepsister,whoisalecturerinanthropologyatCambridge,awomanwho,onseeingherforthefirsttime,heremembersfindingratherrepulsive.Likeamanpossessed,hefollowshertoCambridgeand,inthemiddleofthenight,breaksintoherhouse,onlytofindherinbedwithherstepbrother.When,shortlyafterwards,AntoniaconfessestohimthatshehasalsobeensleepingwithhisolderbrotherAlexandereversinceheintroducedthemtoeachother("Youmeanyoudidn'tknowatall?Surelyyoumusthaveguessed."),Lynch-Gibbon'sworldstartsdisintegrating.Despitehisbeingawinemerchant,hechooseswhiskyashisconstantcompanion.Intheend,however,herealizesthatlifemust--andsomehowwill--goon.InASeveredHead,Murdochsucceedsinpresentingamiddle-agedbourgeoiswhoinitiallythinksofhimselfasasurvivorbutrealizesthatheisinfactavictim.Throughoutthenovel,allthemaincharactersinsistthattheyhavelongovercomeconventionalmorality,thattheyarefreeagentsinthetruestsenseoftheword,butinspiteofhishedonismLynch-Gibbon'sresidualmoralposturejustwillnotgoaway.Murdochisparticularlygoodatconveyingtheatmosphereofbenevolenceandtheapparentlackofhardfeelingsamongtheindividualsthathavewrongedandbeenwronged.("Itisnotatallourideathatyoushouldleaveus.Inastrangeandratherwonderfulwaywecan'tdowithoutyou.Weshallholdontoyou,weshalllookafteryou,"AndersonsaystoLynch-Gibbon,whoseeshimselfasacuckoldratherthananythingelse.)Attimesfunny,sadatothers,ASeveredHeadalsodealswithmoreseriousissuessuchasabortion(GeorgieterminatesherpregnancyatanearlystageofherrelationshipwithLynch-Gibbon)andattemptedsuicide(againitisGeorgiewhotriestotakeherownlifeafterbeingrejectedbybothLynch-Gibbonandhisbrother).Despitetheseseriousovertones,ASeveredHeadisregardedbymanyreadersasthemostentertainingofMurdoch'snovels.AsBritishnovelistWilliamSutcliffeputit,"Ofallthelots-of-people-screwing-lots-of-other-peoplenovelsthisisprobablythebest,andcertainlytheweirdest.WithlessphilosophisingandmoreshaggingthanMurdoch'sotherbooks,itisajoytoseethiswonderfulwriterletherhair(andherknickers)down.TogetherwithJ.B.Priestley,Murdochadaptedherbookforthestage.Afterfourpreviews,theBroadwayproduction,directedbyValMay,openedonOctober28,1964attheRoyaleTheatre,whereitranforonly29performances.ThecastincludedRobinBaileyandJessicaWalter.