In the case of Allie, though, after marrying Noah, she settles into a fairly domestic role. After raising a family with him and having brought up their children, she could consider herself to have fulfilled her duties. And what she would have hoped for at that juncture was that her last days went in a contented and peaceful manner. But that hope was not fulfilled, as her dementia steadily worsened leaving her memory and cognitive ability in a bad shape. As a counselor, Allie’s case is a little less hard than that of Iris to deal with, for the focus would be to rehabilitate her to get by in the domestic setting. Even if her Alzheimer’s would worsen, she could be accommodated into a palliative care setting under the care of nurses specialized in this area.
Hence, in conclusion, the characters of Iris Murdoch and Allie both leave indelible marks on the psyche of the viewers. They share many similarities, the most striking and poignant of which is their terminal struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and the attendant dementia. Treating them in coping with their illness is an arduous task for the counselor, for both their mental and physical condition would get progressively worse. Yet, among the two, Allie was a little easier to rehabilitate, for she had a fairly conventional lifestyle and her temperament too suited a palliative setting. Iris Murdoch on the other hand would have suffered immensely under captive palliative setting for she was used to living a full and vibrant professional and personal life.
References:
Bayley, John (1999) Iris and Her Friends: A Memoir of Memory and Desire. W. W. Norton & Company ISBN 0-393-32079-0
“The Notebook Movie Reviews, Pictures”. Rotten Tomatoes.Flixter. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
Conradi, Peter J. (2001). Iris Murdoch: A Life. W. W. Norton & Companys. p. 12.