Different Journeys Of Spiritual Growth:a Jungian Comparative Interpretation Of To Room Nineteen And The Summer Before The Dark

Doris Lessing(1919-2013),the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007,is known as one of the greatest female writers after Virginia Woolf(1882-1941).To Room Nineteen is published in 1963 and is regarded as the treasure of Lessing's short stories,which mainly demonstrates an intellectual woman named Susan struggling in the abyss of intelligence and finally ending up with death.The Summer Before the Dark is created in 1973 and is honored as the best novel after One Hundred Years of Solitude(1976).It mainly tells a story about a middle-aged woman named Kate who finally achieves spiritual growth by choosing to return home after a short journey in summer.This thesis aims to adopt Jung's Archetypal Theory to compare the different journeys of spiritual growth of Susan and Kate.It is composed of the introduction,the main body and the conclusion.The main body consists of four chapters,respectively discussing the features of the two women from the concepts of Persona,Shadow,Anima and Animus,and Self.There are four sections in the introduction.The first section is about Doris Lessing's life story and her literary status.The second section makes a brief introduction to To Room Nineteen and The Summer Before the Dark.The third section introduces the Archetypal Theory in terms of Persona,Shadow,Anima and Animus,and Self.The fourth section is a review of the studies conducted on the two works.Chapter One mainly discusses Susan and Kate's same Persona as wife and mother.They are the so-called “angels” in family,seemingly happy,but are gradually trapped into spiritual plight.Chapter Two makes a comparative analysis of how Susan and Kate confront inner Shadows.Susan passively recognizes her inner shadows,by contrast,Kate chooses to confront hers actively.Chapter Three mainly makes a comparison between Susan and Kate from the perspective of Anima and Animus,to explore Susan's total possession by the Anima and Kate's final identification with the Animus.Chapter Four comes to the concept of Self in Jung's theory to analyze the different journeys of spiritual growth of Susan and Kate.Susan chooses to commit suicide in Room Nineteen as a result of failing in achieving spiritual growth,while Kate decides to return home to achieve self-redemption.The last part comes to the conclusion.To Room Nineteen and The Summer Before the Dark are created in ten years apart.Lessing,who is in her middle age when she creates these two works,pays more attention to female psychological state and spiritual crisis,and demonstrates a profound reflection of women's confusion in marriage,family,self and sex.From To Room Nineteen to The Summer Before the Dark,from the death of Susan to the self-redemption of Kate,Lessing turns her focus from a radical intellectual female to an ordinary middle-aged housewife.By making a comparison of the different journeys of spiritual growth of the two female characters,this thesis aims to explore the reasons behind their different choices and fates,to show Lessing's focus on female psychology and to demonstrate Lessing's significant transition in the attitudes towards women's destiny from being pessimistic to being optimistic in ten years of writing.