济南大学外国语学院英国文学史及选读课件 Modern and contemporary literature（4）.ppt

Doris Lessing (1919-) that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny. Born in Persia of British parents Grew up and educated in Zimbabwe (former Southern Rhodesia) Left school at the age of 14 and then earned her living as a nursemaid, telephone operator and clerk. At 19 married Frank Wisdom, a civil servant; they had two children. The marriage ended in 1943. In 1943 married the German political activist Gottfried Lessing, a member of the inner circle of the Rhodesian Communist Party. This second marriage also failed and in 1949 moved to England with her youngest child and the manuscript of her first novel Lessings first novel, the story of a white farm wife in Zimbabwe -- and her relationship with her African servant. An explosive topic for the times, the book is a thoughtful portrait of the country, its people and social challenges: brutality of racism in South Africa and the oppression experienced by women in a male-dominated society. Literary style Lessings fiction is commonly divided into three periods: 1. The realistic theme (the 1950s-1970s), when she was writing on social issues; 2. The science fiction (the end of the 1970s-1980s); 3. Back to the realistic social analysis (the 1980s-). However, these three periods were overlapped in some sense. Her themes Feminism the alienating power of science the individuals’ pursuit of their self in a divided society her searching for a remedy for social illness. Children of Violence Plot and Struture This novel comprises of six sections: “Free Women: 1”, “Free Women: 2”, “Free Women: 3”, “Free Women: 4”, “The Golden Notebook”, and “Free Women: 5”. The heroine Anna Wulf is a single mother and novelist, who was struggling with crises in her domestic and political life, and a writer’s block. She is determined to strive for women’s freedom; however, she meets various personal pressures and is bewil