‘The Father of Lies, Plato’

Abstract

This chapter explores Carter’s satirical response to Plato’s Republic in Heroes and Villains (1969), The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972) and The Passion of New Eve (1977), and uses Carter’s argument in ‘Notes from the Front Line’ (1983) that Plato is ‘the father of lies’ as the starting point. Carter critiques Plato’s ideal society in Heroes and Villains, particularly in relation to gender and class relations, and challenges his theory of Forms—the highest level of knowledge—in Doctor Hoffman and New Eve by questioning what constitutes reality. Yeandle argues that New Eve is structured according to Plato’s Simile of the Cave, but contends that Carter rewrites the simile to show that a higher level of knowledge, such as the Forms, cannot be reached.