Women On The Way Towards Freedom-Female Images In Doris Lessing's Collection A Man And Two Women

Lessing as a responsible novelist concerns for female living conditions and their fate a lot.There are various types of female images in her works.This thesis aims to analyze five typical female images in her anthology-A Man and Two Women.Though living in different situations,a common feature of these female images is their struggling for individuality and freedom.Susan in To Room Nineteen pursues freedom so hard that she ends her life in the end."I" in How I Finally Lost My Heart abandons my habit of relying on males spiritually,finally obtaining sense of happiness and freedom along with my awakening self-consciousness.Betty in The Old Woman and the Cat lives an unsettled life under the pressure of the authority but with her independent and free character.The heroine in The Woman on a Roof rebels mutedly but powerfully against the challenge from a male-dominated discourse which is represented by three men of different ages.Judith in Our Friend Judith is independent and free from head to toe.Having her own ideas,she does not live a life like many other traditional women do.She follows her heart and lives a free life by virtue of her view of life.She is a representative of free women.Through observing these women's living condition and their psychological state,we can clearly see their process of seeking individuality in various ways.Their pursuit of individuality and freedom could enlighten and inspire modern women in the world to live freer and happier.This thesis aims to explore ways for women to gain freedom,perfect their independent personalities and achieve life value based on Erich Fromm's ideology of negative and positive freedom by studying female images seeking freedom constantly in a male-dominated society in Lessing's collection A Man and Two Women.The acquirement of negative freedom is through getting rid of outer bondages,but it could make people feel lonelier.Positive freedom is based on the acquirement of negative freedom,which promotes people to develop their potentials through spontaneous activities.Positive freedom is the center of achieving true freedom.Modern women could develop their personalities and further gain positive freedom by loving others,performing creative work and integrating into the society.The pursuit of positive freedom can help women construct their life value and live with others together in harmony.