A Feminism Interpretation Of The Femininity Of Kate In The Summer Before The Dark

Although the themes of Doris Lessing’s novels almost cover every aspect of the twentieth century, her writing of women’s situation plays an important role in her creation. Critics have conducted some researches on The Summer before the Dark from the perspective of feminism, mainly focusing on the aspects of female bildungsroman, female construction and so on. However, the heroine’s femininity described in the novel has not been fully studied. Consequently, in the thesis, the novel is studied from the perspective of femininity.By applying the theory of feminism in the aspect of the femininity, the present author deeply analyzed the change of heroine’s femininity in the different period of this summer. Besides, Lessing’s distinctive feminism is also discussed through analyzing Kate’s understanding of femininity and the reason of her returning.On the basis of the above analysis, a conclusion is drawn that Kate went back home with a new understanding of femininity after experiencing this summer journey. In the process of understanding and changing femininity, Kate finally got self-growth and self -reconstruction.