The Construction Of Space In The Golden Notebook By Doris Lessing

The Golden Notebook is universally regarded as Doris Lessing (1919-)’s masterpiece. Mainly based on space theories and detailed textual analysis, this thesis illustrates the space construction in terms of both content and form revealed in The Golden Notebook and probes the uniqueness and profundity of this novel from a new perspective. New Cultural Geography, Lefebvre’s and Soja’s space theories and spatial narrative strategies are jointly applied to interpret "space construction" in The Golden Notebook.Space is a multi-dimensional being regarding geography, society and culture, which is an important element in Lessing’s literary creation. In Lessing’s works, the space of environment where the characters live was especially described. She often endows spaces with social and cultural connotation. Lessing also specialized in the creative use of spatial narrative strategies to subvert the traditional linear sequence so as to match the character’s real emotional state. The space-constructed model also requires the reader to adopt a space-based thinking to interpret. Only with an all-round reading of the novel can the reader understand those spatialized literary spaces in the novel.In the Introduction part, a brief introduction to Lessing’s life and The Golden Notebook is made, which sets a foundation stone for the detailed analysis in the following chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces some relevant space theories with Lefebvre and Soja as representatives and states the possibility and feasibility in the interpretation of this novel from the perspective of space. From Chapter Two to Chapter Four, these three chapters compose the body of the thesis, concerning the construction of physical and non-physical spaces, including the geographical spaces in Rhodesia and London, the psychological space of Anna and the space of difference, such as the space of gender and the space of age, and spatial narrative strategies applied. Based on the above analysis, a conclusion is drawn that the interpretation of the space construction in The Golden Notebook from the angle of both content and form can not only help the reader understand the text in an all-round fashion but explore the profound connotation and the epic context in Lessing’s literature. The "fragmentation" of human existence and spiritual state in a post-modern society is spatially demonstrated for the reader.