Study Guide: IRIS
Iris tells the story of one of the 20th Century’s most celebrated and extraordinary
English authors: Iris Murdoch. Her story is told by her soul mate and husband,
John Bayley. Iris Murdoch had a remarkable career as both a novelist and
philosopher before being robbed of these gifts by Alzheimer’s dementia.
Movie Study Questions
1. Describe how Iris’s illness first manifests both to her and to others in her
life.
2. How does John, Iris’s husband, first react to the early signs that Iris has
dementia?
3. What impact, if any, do John and Iris’s former lifestyles and their
personalities have on how they cope with Iris’s Illness?
4. What are the challenges, depicted in the film, for the individual caring for
someone with dementia? How do these problems escalate?
5. What happens to John when Iris goes missing?
6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this film’s portrayal of caring for
a loved one with Alzheimer’s dementia?
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
7. What do you think the movie leaves out?
8. If John were your patient, how could you support him as he cares for Iris?
9. Two physicians were included in the storyline. What did they do well for
Iris and John, and what would you have done differently
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