A Study Of Identity In Doris Lessing’s Works

The unique identity of Doris Lessing,reflected in her works,is closely related to her third space thoughts,which are hybrid,cross-boundary and binary deconstructing.Therefore it is a new form of cultural identity generated in the cracks of different cultures.Homi Bhabha and other western thinkers call this cognitive approach as the perspective of the third space.By analyzing the third space thinking mode of solving the confusion of binary opposition embodied in Lessing’s works,this dissertation explores Lessing’s unique multiple vision,and her rich and profound ideological connotation.The dissertation is mainly divided into eight chapters.Chapter One briefly introduces the definition,sources and representative theoreticians of the third space theory,and explains its unique value in the research of identity.From the perspective of the third space theory,identity breaks through the limitations of the essentialized and subject-centered enlightenment concept of identity and the society-centered concept of identity.It holds that the subject is neither essential nor pure social construct,but emphasizes the mobility,hybridity and intermediation.Chapter Two examines the cultural identity in Lessing’s autobiography.Lessing’s migration experience as a "Third Culture Kid" has a great impact on her identity.She is far away from the culture of her mother country,but she also cannot identify with the culture of the host country.The multicultural environment brings cultural conflicts and imbalance.At the same time,the high mobility of space leads to Lessing’s lack of belonging.Her childhood experiences lead her to write in such a way as to construct and illuminate hybrid identities.Chapter Three studies the concept of racial identity in Lessing’s African novels.As white Britons assimilated into African life,their identities changed,and they were no longer the standard conquerors portrayed by traditional imperial narratives.Their new identities left them ambivalent about the Africa they had grown up in,torn their rules between imperial rulers and colonial builders.Lessing keenly captures the emotional changes of white-Africans and their subtle identity shifts in reality.Chapter Four studies the white racial identity in Lessing’s African novels.Lessing’s African works,which are closely related to her own identity of the new white class to which she belongs,are different from the traditional imperial narrative.White people in Lessing’s works are different from the former colonial white class,while they are closely related to each other.This chapter mainly demonstrates the Frankenstein identity model and Lessing’s assumption of establishing brotherly relationship in her African works.Chapter Five studies the concept of gender identity in Lessing’s London novels.On the basis of post-structuralism and other theories,the new concept of gender identity tries to eliminate the logic of binary opposition.Lessing’s views on gender make her works present a totally different perspective.She thinks that gender is both material and cultural constructions,and it should be regarded as the third space to eliminate opposition and establish multiple interaction between different genders.Chapter Six studies the female identity in Lessing’s London novels.Lessing’s London novels describe the dilemma of gender identity.Lessing pointed out that the root of female problems is the logic of binary opposition,so resolving it is helpful to disentangle unreasonable gender norms.In her works,Lessing’s gender writing is no longer masculine or feminine,but hybrid and cooperative.Chapter Seven studies the human identity in Lessing’s space novels.Lessing expresses her reflection on the anthropocentrism caused by binary oppositions in her science fiction series.Lessing puts the narration of the Bible and the evolution into a larger cosmic context in her space novels,overturning the expressions of the centrality of human beings in the Bible and the evolution,so as to highlight the smallness of human beings and the hubris of anthropocentrism.Lessing pointed out that only by blurring the boundary between the two and looking at the status of human beings with a rational and poetic attitude can we get out of the contemporary dilemma.Chapter Eight studies the civilization identity in Lessing’s space novels.Lessing vividly describes the problems brought about by the two common modes of civilization,the clash of civilizations and the universal civilization in The Marriages between Zones Three,Four and Five.She believes that different civilizations are not only in conflict with each other,nor can they promote universal civilization under the guidance of one civilization.Civilization will inevitably lead to the hybridity full of mutual influence and interrelation.The conclusion restates the realistic significance of studying the identity in Lessing’s works.Lessing captures the most prominent realistic problem of the contemporary society,that is,the ambiguous and hybrid identity caused by the multicultural conflict in the context of the current era of globalization,and tries to give her insightful answers.She questioned the pure and stable identity,hoping to reshape the identity with the flowing,hybrid and diversified third space perspective,in line with the present appeal of identity change in the era of globalization.