The mother-daughter conflict in selected works by Doris Lessing

The central characters in Doris Lessing's novels are usually women struggling to shape for themselves a new and authentic identity in a changing world. In this study it is argued that this quest involves the Lessing character in a conflict less with any man than with another woman. This woman is the mother. The younger woman's task is to resist the compulsion to become like her mother and so lead a narrow, entirely domesticated life. The theme of the mother-daughter conflict is given its first extensive examination in this study. Three of Lessing's works are analysed in detail, while brief reference is made to nearly all of her novels and some African short stories. The three works selected, The Grass is Singing (1950), "To Room Nineteen" (1963), and The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five (1980), mark the beginning, an approximate mid-point, and the conclusion of the theme under discussion. They are also works that have not, as yet, enjoyed the exhaustive critical attention given to the Children of Violence series and The Golden Notebook.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

1985

Author dc:creator

• Hunter, Eva Shireen

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cartwright, John

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7592

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7592