A Study on Doris Lessing WritingThe Golden Notes

Ⅰ. Introduction

As one of the most brilliant contemporary British writers， Doris Lessing was born in Iran and moved to Southern Africa where she spent her childhood. In 1949， she moved to London， where her first novel， The Grass is Singing， was published in 1950. Her masterpiece The Golden Notes， which was published in 1962， due to its formal and thematic complexity， was considered a milestone in Feminist literature. Her works focused on a wide range of twentieth-century issues and concerns， from the politics of race that she confronted in her early novels set in Africa， to the politics of gender which lead to her adoption by the feminist movement， to the role of the family and the individual in society， explored in her space fiction of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Ⅱ. The African Theme in Her Works

The Grass is Singing earned a considerable praise as Doris Lessings first novel. Like many of her works， this story was also set in Africa which explored the brutality of racism in South Africa. Relying on the life experiences in southern Africa and with the deep sympathy to the black natives， Doris Lessing showed us a picture of colonialism of that period. In the eyes of the white colonist， the colonized were the symbol of all the humble， inferior and dirty things. The main heroine Mary， from the first day she stepped to the farm， wary carefully their servants to pretend them stealing the leftovers. The white man believed that they had the right to sell or buy the colonized freely. And they agreed that the only way to treat the Africans was through whip. However， in front of such a powerful opponent， the colonized were silent and hopeless， because their status was marginalized and they had to depend on the white people on economy （王麗丽，2006： 214）. The black natives in The Grass is Singing resisted under desperateness， but the result was unsatisfactory. As one of the tragic images with the spirit of resistance in the story， Mosesresistance and obedience were silent. The colonialism brought terrible excruciation to the black natives.

Ⅲ. The Feminism in Her Novels

The view of feminism was highlighted in Doris Lessings masterpiece The Golden Notes， the sounds of the womens liberation movement. She focused on the description of the womens fate and living situation of that period. The main heroine of the novel， Anna Wulf， recorded her life in four different notes： the black one，  something about Anna Wulf herself; the red one about the politics; the yellow one， making up stories by her own experience while the blue one was regarded as a diary. Anna originally intended to resist confusion and find relief by recording what happened， but the notes helped her to think about life independently. In each note， Anna went through the contradiction， confusion and frustration. After a period of self-awareness， Anna restarted to know the life， especially to the relationship between men and women， as well as the responsibility of the individuality to the society.

The feminism in The Golden Notes was not blind and limited. Like what Doris Lessing has said： this novel was not the horn for womens liberation movement， but the description of the womens complex feeling of challenge， hostility and hatreds. Anna was totally free in her past experience and the current life： independent in economy， advanced in thought， free in speech， without limitation of marriage. She was a distinguished woman， totally different from the traditional type， who not only fighted for the same living style as men， but also concerned the racism and the development of the whole world. As a female writer， Doris Lessing explored the possible ways to achieve liberation and pointed out the absurdity and improbability of the separation of women and men. Lessing set an important example to the research of the men and womens relationship in the western culture.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007 because of “that epicist of the female experience， who with skepticism， fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny”. On one hand， Doris Lessing was inevitably influenced by the certain life as well as the special political situation in Africa. On the other hand， Lessing further studied the relationship between women and men， and tried to find the proper solution. Doris Lessing， a sensitive writer on African theme and on feminism in western culture， attributes a lot to the development of the British literature.

References：

[1]李維屏.英美文学研究论丛[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2008， 6.

[2]王丽丽.二十世纪英国文学史[M].济南：山东大学出版社，2006， 12.

[3]左金梅，申富英.西方女性主义文学批评[M].青岛：中国海洋大学出版社，2007，10.

【作者简介】吉冰冰，河南检察职业学院。