‘This Isn’t About Curry, Alistair’

Abstract

This paper reflects on the divorce between The Archer’s Shula and Alistai Hebden-Lloyd. It considers in particular Shula’s main reason for the separation (‘I just don’t love you any more’) and her inability to explain any further (‘It’s just how I feel’). It does so by bringing Shula in conversation with the British philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch, who was an avid listener to the Archers. Love is for Murdoch a moral virtue, though she is also aware of its trappings. I shall use the recent scholarly debate on the love in Murdoch’s work to help Shula reflect on her claim.