An analysis of the process of Marie’s awakening in A Road to the Big City from the perspective of feminism

Abstract：Some scholars thinks that the novel A Road to the Big City by Doris Lessing reflects the process of Maries fall， but from the perspective of feminism， it shows Maries awakening is a rising process， which can be seen from， the change of her words， the shift of her behavior and the variation of her choices. By the analysis， it calls on the independence and awakening of female.

Key words：Doris Lessing； A Road to the Big City； feminism； Marie； awakening

中圖分类号：H319 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1672-1578（2018）09-0001-02

1 Introduction

A Road to the Big City is a short novel written by British novelist， Doris Lessing. The protagonist in the novel is Marie from countryside. The variation of her words and her behavior and the change of her choices can all reflect a rising process of Maries awakening.

From her words， she doesnt say a word at the beginning of the novel. Then she says something and finally she doesnt agree with Jansens opinion. From her behavior， starting with being obedient to Jansen， she isnt happy. Then she challenges the authority of male and in the end， she gains freedom and independence. From her choices， because her sister Lilla seduces her， she goes to the big city Johannesburg. Then she decides to stay in Johannesburg， although Jansen persuades her to leave. She fights against him by using words， but she still does the thing arranged by him. Finally she chooses to be in the big city， which revolts by her behavior. This paper will analyze the three lines that impulse female gain independence and awakening.

2 The change of her words

In the novel， Maries words changes all the time， which expresses the process of her rising awakening.

The author uses the words “at once” to depict the action of Lilla when she answers the question. Obviously， she grasps every chance to make a voice of her own. She says “brandy at once”. It implied females ideological awakening.“Two brandies， she added， with another impatient look at her sisters”， someone said that this sentence embodies that Lilla looks down upon her sister， Marie. Of course， it is not wrong. On the other aspect， it shows that Lilla is angry at Maries cowardice. Marie is not like her sister to express her opinion actively， so her sister orders two brandies and looks down upon her sister. Lilla hopes that Marie can make a voice of her own like Lilla. ‘I havent never drunk brandy， said the younger with a giggle of surprise. ‘Except when Mom gave me some sherry at Christmas. She blushed as the older said despairingly， half under her breath： Oh， god preserves me from it！” It is the first time that Marie has expressed her idea and mind in the whole novel. Although she becomes actively， her sister is still angry at Marie， because the words that she said is not euphemistic. From here， it can be understood that Maries awakening develops.

With the developing of the novel， there is an more obvious process of word change that can imply the rising awakening.

There are a series of questions asked by Jansen：“where do you come from？” “what is home like” “what does your father do？” “Did you run away？” Marie answers them one by one clearly and at the same time， Marie does not express her mind and idea. All the time， Jansen is an active questioner， while Marie is a passive person. It would rather be regarded as communication than a way of Jansen to get the information of Marie. Marie loses the right of speaking out of her mind and idea as well as she has to be an obedient person. Whats more， a great number of words describe Jansen， which symbolizes the governor of the world is male. All of them implied that the position of men and women is not equal.

When the young man brings her sister to go outside， Marie admires her sister， Lilla. After she answers these questions，“Theyve gone to the pictures”， said Marie. Although this sentence is not Maries opinion， it is still her expression of her inner world. It is the first time that Marie has said the words actively. It is an improvement compared with the beginning behavior.

Then she has her own opinion and disagrees with Jansens opinion. Although it is out of her love to her sister， it is still an improvement for her to express her opinion. “Your sisters a bad girl” said Jansen， and saw， to his surprise， that Maries face showed fear at last. Those two words， ‘bad girl had more effect than all his urgent lecturing. Jansen says to her that her sister is a bad girl， but she cant bear the bad comment on her sister. “You shouldnt say such things， said Marie， beginning to cry. ‘You shouldnt never say someones a bad girl”， these sentences shows that Marie has her opinion and idea and she refuses to accept Jansens opinion.“‘My sister wont let you， she cried out. ‘shell stop you”. When Jansen asks her to leave the big city， she also wouldnt like to do so. From here， it can be understood that Maries awakening is developing step by step.

3 The shift of her behavior

It is said that mind can direct behavior. At the beginning of the novel， Marie doesnt have her own mind. She does all the things that are arranged by her sister or that is to say that she is controlled by her sister. Because Marie and Lilla are both female， Marie doesnt fights against Lilla. But when Jansen oppresses her， she fight against him.

At the end of the novel， it describes the situation that Marie will leave the big city. Jansen doesnt concern about Maries feeling and he sends her to the railway station， which expresses his oppression to her. Where there is oppression， there is resistance. At the beginning， she refuses to accept Jansens arrangement. “He held her tight until they were in a taxi. There she sat crouched on the edge of the seat， watching the promised city sweep past.” The sentence shows Maries fighting drastically. Then it shows her obedience to Jansen， a represent of male. The sentence “she smiled weakly， and huddled herself into her seat， like a cold little animal， staring sadly out of the window”， shows Maries disappointment. The author uses the words “cold little animal”， “sadly”， “weakly” to express Maries unhappiness.

Her mind is very conflict， when the train willleave the city.In fact， there are two Marie in her inner world： one Marie （A） represents the traditional woman， while the other Marie （B） stands for the modern woman in the new age. Marie （A） tries her best to persuade Marie （B） to observe the traditional rules and disciplines which are formulated by Male， the ruler of the world. In Marie （B）s opinion， Marie （A） is not too much ridiculous. Marie （B） wants Marie （A） to pursue freedom and independence that should have belonged to them. By the intensive arguing， she finally gains an intensive power that she wants to challenge and break the males authority. The sentences “With the pound notes clutched loosely in her hand she was struggling her way through the crowds back to the lights， the love， the joyous streets of the promised city.” She is successful and she finally gains the freedom and independence.

4 The variation of her choices

In the novel， Marie totally makes three choices. Firstly， she decides to go to the big city. Then she chooses to believe her sister， but Jansen hinders her to live in the big city. She has to go to the railway station to leave the big city. Finally， she made her own choice that she stays in the big city， although Jansen persuades her to leave the big city.

The three varied choices can reflect her rising awakening.Firstly， she decides to go to the big city. When Marie is in home， she receives a lot of letters from her sister. In the letters Lilla describes the happy and comfortable life as well as a easy way to make money. All of these make Marie adores the life in the big city， so the letters are the impulsing power that drives Marie to go to the big city.

As the novel develops， there is a conflict between Marie and Jansen.Not only does Jansen hinders her to live in the big city， but also he tells that Lilla cheats her. Marie cant believe what he says and she still believes her sister， which symbolizes the unity of female and Marie becomes a modern female. Jansen doesnt concerns Maries feeling and forces her to leave the big city， which reflects the fact that males oppression to female in the world， so she has to submit to Jansen.

In the end of the novel， she decides to stay in the big city. It is Marie who completely becomes a modern female and she makes her own choice.Although Jansen hinders her to live in the big city， she still chooses to live in the big city， which expresses she break the bondage that is from male and gain independence and awakening.

5 Conclusion

The variation of her words and her behavior and the change of her choices can all reflect a rising process of Maries awakening. Marie represents female in the society. People in the society should keep the correct convention and abandon the outdated and harmful rules and disciplines that are formulated by male and female is treated unfairly. Male and female are not born opposite. According to the Bible， Eve is the Adams rib， so they are complementary. By using the appropriate way to solve the conflicts between male and female， the society can be more and more warm and peaceful.

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作者简介：阮文金（1994-），女，浙江临安人，硕士研究生，安徽师范大学研究生，研究方向为英美文学。