"the Golden Notebook" Women's Studies

This paper is dedicated to the study of the confusion and perplexity came across by women when they are trying to get rid of the object status, establish women's subject status, and pursue their self-value. In addition, this paper also studies modern woman's true living conditions and the reasons of their confusion. There are mainly three reasons: the strong emotional attachment of women to men; split personality caused by multiple personality; the confusion as a mother. Although modern women have already shaken off their economic attachment to men, they are still deeply attached to men emotionally. Besides, having multiple personality makes women feel at lost. Doris Lessing deconstructs traditional image of mother. She presents mother's love, hate, and complaint between the lines and shows the true living condition of"mother", which is shadowed by mainstream literature.This paper contracts two different kinds of women's predicament and the different ways they broke through difficult conditions in The Golden Notebook. Dissatisfied housewives passively protest against their fate. Free women actively pursue their life. Both of these two ways are the way to make their voice heard. After undergoing the twists and turns in life, some of them decide to come back to home, while some of the others continue to pursue their own selves. They confirm that the so-called"free woman"is a Utopia dream of women.