摘 要

近年来，随着学术界对女性意识研究的深入，许多文学史家开始重新审视和研究女性作家。我们自然不该忽视多丽丝·莱辛。她在女性文学中占有一席之地，对后世的影响颇深。尽管她本人似乎不愿意被定义为“女权主义作家”，但她对女性问题感同身受，一生都予以重视。多丽丝·莱辛作品中的重要主题即是现代女性所面临的困境以及她们如何寻求自身的解放。本文从莱辛的经典作品之一《第五个孩子》入手，小说讲述了一对婚后过着幸福家庭生活的夫妇，大卫和哈里特，由于计划之外出现的第五个孩子，使得这个看似完整的家庭最后分崩离析的故事。本文以哈里特为核心，对小说中出现的女性问题进行了分析。从女性主义的角度看，这本书中的女性经历可以帮助更多的女性更深入地了解自己并重新思考自己的成长路程，这对妇女的未来发展具有重要意义。另外，由此更深入地了解多丽丝·莱辛，比如她对女权主义的看法或她的写作特征等等。

关键词：女性主义；女性主体性；第五个孩子；多丽丝·莱辛

Abstract

In recent years, with the deepening of the study of female consciousness in academic circles, many literary historians began to reexamine and study female writers. Naturally, we should not ignore Doris Lessing, who occupies a place in female literature and has a great influence on later generations. Although Lessing seemed reluctant to be stereotyped as a “feminist writer”, she was sympathetic to women’s issues and gave prominence to them all her life. The important subjects in Doris Lessing’s works are the dilemma faced by modern women and the way they seek their own liberation. This thesis topic begins with one of her classic works, The Fifth Child, about a couple, David and Harriet, who have been living a happy life after marriage. But the fifth child Ben, who appears out of the plan, breaks the original happiness of this seemingly complete family. The paper selects the Harriet as the core to analyze the women’s issues. From the perspective of feminism, the women’s experiences in the book may help more women know themselves better and rethink their growing process. It is meaningful for women’s future development. Also, we can have more in-depth knowledge about Doris Lessing, such as her notions about feminism or her writing features.

Key Words: Feminism; Feminine Subjectivity; The Fifth Child; Doris Lessing

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Doris Lessing and Her Works 1

1.2 Plot of The Fifth Child 2

1.3 Literature Review 3

1.4 The Significance and Layout of This Paper 4

2 Absence of The Feminine Subjectivity 5

2.1 Giving up Career 5

2.2 Superiority Feeling of Reproductive Function 5

2.3 Obedience to Patriarchal Control 6

3 Awakening of The Feminine Subjectivity 8

3.1 Resistance to Family Pressure 8

3.2 Resistance to Social Pressure 8

4 Lost of The Feminine Subjectivity 10

4.1 Returning to Mainstream concepts 10

4.2 Self-doubt for Family Disruption 10

5 Conclusion 12

5.1 Summary 12

5.2 Further Study 12

References 14

Acknowledgements 16

An Analysis of Feminism in Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child

1 Introduction

Doris Lessing and Her Works

Doris Lessing was born on 22nd October, 1919 in Kermanshah, Peria(now Iran). Her original last name was Tayler and her parents were British. When Lessing was five years old, her father Alfred Tayler who yearned for pastoral life moved to Southern Rhodesia(now Zimbabwe) and worked in a farm with his whole family. Here she spent most of her childhood alone in a small sparsely populated town. The farm life was not so good for Lessing’s father, but it was the paradise of her fantasy.

In her early hard life in Africa, she was self-educated by reading very widely. Those nineteenth century novelists, such as Dickens, Gibbling, Stendahl, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, became Lessing’s most important spiritual companion and laid a solid foundation for her literary career. Actually, the country where she spent the earlier part of her life plays a key role in her novels.