ABSTRACT
Iris Murdoch got onto her bicycle for a ride. She thought that she was heading for the swimming hole of her youth in the Thames above Oxford, but she knew that was not true. It was nearly the middle of June. The sun was out, but there were some clouds to hide her. Trinity term would be ending soon. The humidity was still light. It was almost the longest day of the year. It was almost the longest day of her life. For the most part, there is a natural order of things. Iris loved to submit to the order and then to emerge and rub against it just a bit. But the War changed many things. Demons entered her life and tormented her in the guise of pleasure. She was adrift. Her social service did not help at all. It only irritated the wound. Iris started pedaling hard on the very slight hill.
