Deconstruction Of Feminist Utopia In Lessing's The Marriages Between Zones Three,Four And Five

Recognized as the greatest British female writer after Virginia Woolf,Doris Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.With a wide variety of themes and profound connotations,her works reflect her deep concerns about gender,race,war,hegemony and many other social and political issues.The publication of her space fiction series Canopus in Argos:Archives marks the transformation of Lessing's literary creation from traditional realist novels to science fiction.As the second volume of this series,The Marriages between Zones Three,Four and Five1 published in 1980 mainly tells the intermarriage of two protagonists,Al·Ith and Ben Ata.Having huge differences in cultural backgrounds,ideologies and ways of thinking,they are forced to unite by the Order from the invisible ruler,the Providers.In the preface of Shikasta,Lessing points out that science fiction is of a Utopian character and is important for human development.Demonstrating her deep thinking on gender relations and human future,the symbol of Utopian land frequently emerges in the series of Canopus in Argos:Archives.Lessing acclaims the utopian spirit as the inspiration to seek the wonderland.With the help of feminist utopia theories,this thesis analyzes The Marriages's deconstruction of feminist utopia and further explores the construction of an ideal world.There are five chapters in the thesis.Chapter One is the introduction,which briefly introduces Doris Lessing and her The Marriages.Then it gives a general survey of previous studies on Lessing and this novel,and also explains the focus and structure of the thesis.Chapter Two mainly delineates Lessing's presentation of Zone Three as a typical feminist utopia.Firstly,Zone Three is a realm isolated from the outside world,and a pastoral land where people live in affluence and peacefulness.Secondly,it is a paradise of women who take the dominant role in the society.Thirdly,it is depicted as a feminist utopia free from male influence.In her creation of Zone Three,Lessing denies the logic of patriarchal domination,and overturns the ideology of androcentrism in the traditional patriarchal utopia.Chapter Three analyzes the novel's subversion of feminist utopia.Firstly,the novel exposes the dystopian side of Zone Three,the typical feminist utopia:repression of personal emotions,spiritual indolence resulting from complacency,occurrence of misandry and the potential danger of being conquered.Through the depiction of these serious social problems,the novel reveals the destructive effects of overemphasizing female domination to the point of rejecting male involvement and gender communication in human history.Secondly,the novel negates the underlying logic of feminist utopia by revealing the maladies of radical feminism in Zone Five and calamities inflicted by patriarchal rule in Zone Four.The novel implies that the underlying logic of feminist utopia and that of patriarchal rule are the same—sexual polarization which separates men and women and denies the importance of gender communication and cooperation,and thereby sharpens the contradiction between the sexes and ultimately leads to the degeneration of human society.Chapter Four explores the construction of an ideal society in the novel.The remarkable features of this new world lie in four aspects:its democratic system,women's ability to do independent and rational thinking,equal division of labor and gender-cooperation in child-rearing.As the core of Lessing's ideal society,harmony has always been highlighted in her works.In The Marriages,her emphasis on harmony is related to gender relations as well as the relationship between human and nature.Specifically,her advocate of harmonious human-nature relationship is presented in Zone Three's affinity with nature and Zone Four and Zone Five's positive change of attitude toward nature whereas her stress on harmonious gender relationship is exhibited in the hero and heroine's physical and spiritual union.The society with gender equality,mutual respect and recognition,and balanced development of different life forms is what Lessing pursues and advocates in this novel.Chapter Five summarizes the previous discussions in the thesis.An exploration of The Marriages's deconstruction of feminist utopia helps to reveal Lessing's thought of harmony concerning environmental and gender issues,and foregrounds the significance of her space fiction to the present world.