The Futile Rebellions Of "marginal Women"in Doris Lessing's Two African Novels

Doris Lessing's many early writings focus on women,especially �Marginal Women�,for she herself is a typical �Marginal Woman�.She has the similar life experiences with white women living in Africa and endeavors to change her life,therefore,she cares about these females.And in her novels,she demonstrates her confusion,hesitation and struggle.The thesis concentrates on Lessing's two novels The Grass Is Singing and Martha Quest which unfold the stories of rebellions and submissions of Mary Turner and Martha Quest.The two �Marginal Women� intend to rebel against patriarchy in their own way,but they finally surrender suffering from confusion,hesitation,vibration and struggle,for they are deeply impacted by the traditional patriarchal values,and they have no power or no opportunity to obtain utter liberty and independence.Born and raised up in colony rather than in homeland,�Marginal Women� are not completely accepted by both cultures because of their mixed identities.Gender inequality is also imposed upon �Marginal Women�,for in the patriarchal society females are inevitably marginalized and objectified.Although they start to have the awareness of independence,all the efforts of rebellions turn out to be futile.The whole thesis focuses on the analyses of the rebellions and submissions of the two characters.The paper is divided into three chapters.The first chapter and second chapter introduce the dilemmas faced by �Marginal Women� including the identity crises and gender predicaments as well as the rebellions and submissions of Mary Turner and Martha Quest respectively;the third chapter compares the artistic representations of their rebellions including the resemblances and variation.Through the analyses of narrative techniques and images,the hopelessness and futile rebellions are demonstrated.The thesis draws the conclusion that the futile rebellions of�Marginal Women� are attributed to colonialism,racism,gender discrimination and class differentiation.