Interpreting The Grass Is Singing In Light Of Space Theory

Doris Lessing is one of the greatest writers in postwar period. She got Nobel Prize for literature in2007. The Grass is Singing (1950) is one of Lessing’s masterpieces which won her great fame in writing arena.To The Grass is Singing, many critics have given high commendation and many scholars have done a lot of researches. However most of these researches are from angles of feminism and post-colonialism, especially in China. In The Grass is Singing, space is also a hidden key element which is worth launching a deep research. This thesis, from space angle, provides enlightenment to understanding of Lessing’s works and a fresh way to approach The Grass is Singing. On the other hand, space theories are hot abroad but relatively new in China. Spatiality is gaining the eye of more and more scholars in critical circle abroad and this thesis is favorable of helping to mature the space theory research in literary criticism in China. This thesis applies Edward Soja’s Third Space Theory to analyze The Grass is Singing and it turns out to be feasible and reasonable. Under the research framework, there are two main lines. One is the analysis of female space in The Grass is Singing in light of Third Space Theory and the other is the analysis of racial space in The Grass is Singing in light of Third Space Theory. In doing the research, destinies of the heroine Mary and the hero Moses are explained in a new way. The following is a brief introduction to this thesis.In Introduction part, there is a detailed guiding description of the writer and her works. Lessing’s achievement is tremendous. It seems that she never stops writing. Her works come into public constantly year by year. Her styles never stay the same. Readers can always find fresh air in her works. That’s why Lessing is so popular. She is British, but she is loved by Americans, Europeans, Chinese, and readers from other countries. A great amount of literary researchers launch into her works and has published many fruitful monographs. There in this part it is an overall introduction about Lessing and her works. What’s more detailed introduction about The Grass is Singing is also provided.In Literature Review part the focus is contemporary field of research approaches and study theories that are closely related to this thesis. In reviewing all contemporary Lessing researches, this thesis put forward space approach which stands on foundation of all previous studies and open up new possibilities. The research approach of this thesis is the postmodern space angle which is very popular abroad but just begins in China. This thesis is supposed to serve as a useful reference in space approach field in China. And on the other hand it provides a new eye of looking at Lessing’s works. This thesis applies Edward Soja’s Third Space Theory to analyze The Grass is Singing. Edward Soja creatively put forward Third Space Theory in1996. But he didn’t publish it from nowhere. Third Space Theory has a solid foundation of tracing history and many supporters among literary scholars. Many researchers have done a lot of studies with this theory. However it is still new in China. This thesis attempts to apply it in study of Lessing’s works. And it turns out successful.The third chapter provides strong theoretic support to whole thesis. In this part there is a detailed introduction of the Third Space Theory. The Third Space Theory developed from Western Marxism, from Henri Lefebvre. During the process of development many extraordinary scholars contributed their inspiring fruit to it. When it was published there were many supporters and from then on academic discussions about it were hotter and hotter. Here in the third chapter the Third Space Theory makes way for further analysis in the following chapters.The forth chapter is the exploration of the third space in The Grass Is Singing. Within this chapter there are two main parts and within each main part there are three subparts. The first main part is the analysis of female space in The Grass is Singing in light of Third Space Theory. There are three subparts. The first subpart is the analysis of The Gendering Space under Patriarchy; the second subpart is the analysis of Mary’s Third Space; the third part is the analysis of Collapse of Mary’s Third Space. The three ones are logically ordered and interconnected. This part concerns the destiny of the heroine Mary in The Grass is Singing. How Mary’s life is embodied through space tool. The second main part is the analysis of racial space in The Grass is Singing in light of Third Space Theory. Here it also has three subparts:the first is the analysis of Racial Space under White-centrism; the second subpart is the analysis of Moses’ Third Space; the third is the analysis of Collapse of Moses’Third Space. Like Mary in chapter two here in this part the black hero Moses in The Grass is Singing is the focus. Through space exploring in this three subparts Moses’life trace exhibited. The fifth chapter is a conclusion of the thesis. Finally Mary and Moses’destinies are distinctively doomed and their respective third spaces collapsed. Although it seemed that the end of the story was a tragedy but through space analysis we found that these two persons are heroes and there are something sparkling in them, worth respect. They owned their third spaces, free from outside authority. They lived in periphery but were still independent, self-support and bravely stood before a powerful center. That’s the respectable point of human spirit.