The Elegy Of Motherhood－A Feminist Reading Of Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child

As the Nobel Prize laureate in literature, Doris Lessing (1919－) has exerted avibrating influence upon the literary world. Her multi-genred themes, her independentvision and bold experiments on fiction attract a large number of worldwide readers.As a female writer with realistic inclination, she demonstrates a deep concern for thewomen issues so that most of her works are dominated by women protagonists whohave endured great hardship and strived hard in acquiring self-identity. The heroineHarriet in Lessing’s novel The Fifth Child (1988) is a case in point.In light of feminist theories, the thesis concentrates on the mother image—Harriet, who has been presented as the victim of unexpected event of giving birth toan abnormal child, the victim of repression to conform to a female stereotype, and thevictim of patriarchal oppression. The thesis attempts to analyze the heroine fromexternal and internal aspects based on socialist feminism and psychoanalyticalfeminism. The former is applied to illustrate the outer causes of gender oppressionwhile the latter is employed to elaborate her spiritual alienation and mental splitting.The external and internal dilemmas Harriet has faced gradually awake herself-consciousness and finally force her to go through a painful process ofindividuation.The thesis intends to point out that women’s marginal position is the result ofimposed feminine characteristics as well as strong patriarchal culture. Thus, in orderto construct female individuality, women should overthrow the patriarchal systembravely and strive for economic independence; at the same time they need to freethemselves from the inferior complex.