Study Of Doris Lessing’s Novels The Fifth Child And Ben,in The World From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

Doris Lessing was one of the most important contemporary British writers,known and renowned as “the greatest female writer after Virginia Woolf,” and has won many international literary awards,including the Nobel Prize for Literature in2007.Lessing’s writing is diverse and closely related to the times.Most scholars have studied her popular works through feminist,deconstructionist,Sufism,and cultural criticism approaches.However,trauma,as one of the distinguishing features of Lessing’s work,has not been explored in depth.In addition,Compared to Lessing’s other novels,researchers have paid less attention to the two novels selected for this study.The Fifth Child and its sequel,Ben,in the World,are works from the later stages of Lessing’s work.The two main characters in the novel,Harriet and Ben,suffer from varying degrees of trauma.The existence of a fifth child,Ben,shatters the David’s plans for a better life and more seriously affects Harriet’s marital and family happiness.In addition,the family treats Ben as a monster,and these experiences bring indelible trauma to Ben’s childhood.Eventually,he chooses to leave his cold home and enter society to earn a living,but eventually comes to his death.This thesis adopts a research method that combines theories and close reading of the text,using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis and Judith Herman’s theory of trauma and recovery as the main theories to conduct a systematic study of the novel’s main characters,Harriet and Ben,their traumatic experiences,trauma symptoms,and their recovery.It aims to help readers better interpret the text and understand the significance of Lessing’s writing about trauma,and it is also a new attempt to enrich the study of Lessing’s works.This paper contains five chapters.The first chapter introduces Lessing,the novel The Fifth Child,and its sequel.Ben,in the World,as well as the current status of research on these two novels by scholars at home and abroad,explains the significance of the theory of trauma and the selected topic and illustrates the research ideas and research methods.and the second chapter specifically analyzes the personal trauma symptoms of Harriet and Ben.In addition to physical trauma,the novels also contain many symptoms of psychological trauma,including illusions,nightmares,depression,and irritability.The third chapter analyzes the reasons for the trauma suffered by Harriet and Ben,mainly at the individual,family,and social levels.The lack of both family and social responsibility has caused them physical and mental trauma.In the fourth chapter,this thesis focuses on the objective conditions and efforts of Harriet and Ben to overcome their trauma,as well as the specific reasons why Ben failed to recover from his trauma.The fifth chapter summarizes the relevant points explored above and reiterates the critical issue of the lack of empathy and responsibility between the individual and society reflected in the novel,which is of great significance for a deeper understanding of trauma theory and the themes of Lessing’s novels.Lessing’s writing embodies her humanistic care,expresses her concern for all human beings in the context of modern culture,and shows her observation and reflection on trauma and her unremitting pursuit of getting rid of trauma.Lessing’s works also inspire us to seriously examine and reflect on the existing family and social problems,establish harmonious and healthy family and social relationships,and provide a better living environment for the younger generations or vulnerable members so as to avoid the occurrence of trauma.