Reconstruction Of Female Subjectivity

Doris Lessing, the winner of 2007 Nobel Literature Prize, with her wealth of personal experience and unique perspective, showed the survival of woman groups situation of the 20th century in her novels. This dissertation investigates the problematic locality "space" and its relationship with the female protagonists in Doris Lessing's novels by studying the interrelationship between gender and space. By analyzing the female protagonists who breakthrough the home space, then enter the social space, eventually return to self, to explore the inner spaces in Doris Lessing's novels to realized the unique feminist consciousness of Lessing's and her effort to reconstruction of female subjectivity. Finally come to the conclusion: the liberation of women relying on female individual or group efforts are not feasible, there is the liberation of Man also necessary, therefore, only men and women join each other and make joint efforts that woman can really establish the female subjects, achieve the liberation of women.The thesis is discussed by four aspects to explore gender and space relationship in Lessing's novels.The first chapter, analysis the impact of home as a private space for women to achieve self -identity. Feminists believe that home space as an important component of the private sphere, it is not only a place where express male oppression of women ,but also a space where woman against the male oppression . It is not only a structure outside the family framework, and it has been deeply embedded in family relations to politics. As a women writer who always considers of woman survival conditions , many of Lessing's novels are all around home space to reflect the survival status of women. This chapter concerns on above issue by studying three Female characters in Lessing's novels: Mary in "Grassing is singing", Susan in "Room nineteen" and Henry in "Fifth Child" ,Chapter II, Escape "cage"—women struggling in the job market .Traditional feminist think social space as a relative space of home is the heaven for women to achieve self. They encourage women, especially mothers, to go out of home space, and enter into the social sphere, to have a job and achieve the liberation of women. Lessing, however, through her work is to clarify such a reason: career in public sphere is not the main answer for women to establish their subjectivity .In fact, it may be part of the trap. For compared women in home space who are not economically independent, non-freedom of action, the women in the workplace did receive a certain degree of "self-reliance," but far from achieving true freedom .This chapter chooses many career women in Lessing ' s works as objects, analysis many women images in "The Diary of Jane·Summers" and " love, again ", and combined to analyze Kate in "summer before the dark" and her process of leaving home but finally back home again, explored the discrimination of public space on the female body and the dual pressures against women's self-search ,as well as in the process women come to recognize that their own lack of subjectivity.Chapter three focuses on women's anxiety about their identities in urban city in The Golden Notebook. There is always take economically independent, no pressure of the family as the ultimate goal of Women's liberation. But Lessing with her speculative perspective and dialectical feminist consciousness to tell the majority of women, the so-called free women are not free, They still could not escape the emotional attachment of men, and women's writing which is considered freedom is ironically, moreover, the Liberal women still have a confliction in a variety of identity .This chapter through Specific analysis of Anna who as the "free women" in "Golden Notebook", concerns on her writing, reflection of sexual relationship and multiple identity conflicts. Revealed Anna who is represented by "free female" tried to find inner psychological space by self-search.Chapter IV, Harmony between man and woman—Lessing's reconstruction of women subjectivity. After thinking of the non-freedom of women under the home and social space and their search for the inner psychological space, Lessing explores the problem how to truly realize female subjectivity. By analyzing a large number of Lessing's works, we can found that Lessing conveys to us such a message: in order to achieve true liberation, women need for male participation. Although male enjoy the benefits from patriarchal culture, they are the victims of the cultural system at the same time, they also need liberation; Moreover, in the process of fight against patriarchy and achieve gender equality, men and women can work together to achieve real harmony relations between them. This chapter combines the works of Lessing and the theory of men's liberation , analysis Lessing's criticism on "anti-male sisters" and "female workaholic", which as the represented theory of the traditional feminist ,concerned on Lessing's Male care idea and special female consciousness.Explored her assumption to reconstruction of female subjectivity: Bipolar hand in hand, Moves toward the harmony.