Sometimes this is almost comic, but at the novel’s climax it becomes gut-wrenching, such that what happens to Dora and Paul is almost ancillary. Michael tries desperately to keep his desires at bay even in the face of temptation, and conceal his true self from the rest of the Imber community. Murdoch, on the other hand, is sympathetic, which likely went against the grain of British society when this novel was published in 1958. He also knows that a faith community will not be sympathetic. It turns out Michael is gay, and suffered early in his career when his orientation became known to others.
I first thought The Bell would be about Dora and Paul’s relationship, but it is much more about Michael and his inner struggles with sexuality and faith. Toby is young and impressionable, finding spiritual fulfillment in Imber’s natural beauty. Dora, by association with Paul, is always a bit of an outsider and finds the group’s customs a bit awkward. Dora and Toby both assimilate into the community to varying degrees. The community as a whole is looking forward to two significant events: the ceremonial installation of a new bell at the Abbey, and one Imber member’s planned installation as a cloistered nun. Together they tend the estate and the market garden, and organize daily worship activities.
The other members are mostly misfits who have withdrawn from mainstream society. Imber’s leader is Michael Meade, whose family originally owned the estate. The Imber community is small, mostly male, and adjoins a Benedictine abbey whose nuns are cloistered for life. On her way she meets Toby, who plans to spend the summer at Imber before leaving for university. Dora later decides to attempt reconciliation, and joins Paul at Imber. As a guest he receives food and lodging, and a place to focus on his academic research. When Dora Greenfield leaves her domineering husband Paul, he escapes to Imber, a lay religious community in the countryside. The Bell explores themes of sexuality and power, like most of Iris Murdoch’s novels, and this time it is set against a religious backdrop.
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