Abstract
This paper examines the humanist themes in the novels of Doris Lessing, particularly The Golden Notebook and The Four-Gated City from the Children of Violence series. It traces the philosophical roots of humanism from the Greek philosopher Protagoras through the Renaissance, Christian humanism of Erasmus, and existentialism of Sartre, and argues that Lessing’s fiction embodies a committed humanist vision. Lessing’s sense of social responsibility and her pursuit of those oppressed by society infuse her fiction about colonial Africa and post-war London. The paper demonstrates that Lessing champions the cause of women and racial minorities, depicting the chaos, confusion and psychological tension of modern life while maintaining an optimistic outlook on human potential.
Keywords: Doris Lessing, humanism, The Golden Notebook, The Four-Gated City, Children of Violence, feminism, post-war fiction
Humanism and the Novel
Humanism is a philosophy — the central concern of which is man and his happiness. It underlies the value and dignity of man and takes him as the measure of all things. The relationship between a humanist and a novelist is very close; as Peter Faulkner notes, the association between the two “is not accidental” (3). Humanism has often found expression in the novels of D.H. Lawrence, George Eliot, and Henry James. As Robert Liddel says: “the novelist ought to be a humanist” (53-54).
Lessing’s Humanist Commitment
Among twentieth century English novelists, Doris Lessing is intensely committed to active persuasion to reform society. She talks of the “sense of duty” that makes her join organizations and defends her own support of Communism. Her commitment to a sense of social responsibility and a pursuit of those oppressed by society also infuses her fiction about colonial Africa which makes her theme humanistic. The African fiction of Doris Lessing shows her scorn for the half-hearted liberals and the aristocrats who do not really commit themselves to the downtrodden.
Children of Violence
From 1952 to 1969, Doris Lessing published the five novels to make the series entitled Children of Violence. Throughout Children of Violence, the picture of the four-gated city embodies harmony, reconciliation and integration. In this series, Martha grows up amid the distrust between English men and Afrikaners, and their common hatred of blacks. Besides the colour, she is concerned with the rights of a woman in a world of man and looks to the politics of the left-wing to bring justice to women and blacks alike.
The Golden Notebook
In The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing presents Anna Wulf, the novelist writing a novel and keeping several notebooks revealing different layers of her life. The Golden Notebook is probably the most important single novel published in England since the War. Its theme is announced in the first line of the first section “Free Women.” The search for identity is the crucial point in Lessing’s novels: All the characters are desperately in search for identity.
As Jack tells Anna Wulf: “But humanism stands for the whole person, the whole individual, striving to become as conscious and responsible about everything in the universe” (307-8).
The Four-Gated City
The Four-Gated City chronicles the breakdown of decorum most completely and ends with Martha’s search for documentation on the discoveries she has made by experimenting with her own psyche. At the opening of the novel she visits the restaurant when she arrives in Post-War London. Using Mark’s house as a base of operations, Martha occasionally ventures out to continue the debasement of her former intentions.
Conclusion
Novels of Doris Lessing specifically The Golden Notebook and The Four-Gated City show that she is a humanist who supports the cause of the downtrodden in the society. Women have been subject to suppression and suffering through ages; similarly the “blacks” were also denied freedom and political as well as social rights. Thus we find that the novels of Doris Lessing deal with the human problems, and they clearly reflect her fellow feeling, her optimistic outlook, and above all she raises her voice for the two downtrodden classes: women and the “blacks.”
Works Cited
- Babbit, Iriving. Rousseau and Romanticism. New York: Meridian Books, 1919.
- Bergonzi, Bernard. The Situation of the Novel. London: Macmillan, 1970.
- Bradbury, Malcolm. Possibilities: Essays on the State of the Novel. London: O.U.P., 1973.
- Faulkner, Peter. Humanism in the English Novel. London: Pemberton, 1975.
- Frye, Northrop. Utopia and Utopian Thought. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966.
- Gindin, James. Post-War British Fiction: New Accents and Attitudes. London: Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- Karl, R. Fredrick. A Reader’s Guide to the Contemporary English Novel.
- Lessing, Doris. The Golden Notebook. London: Michael Joseph, 1962.
- Lessing, Doris. The Four Gated City. London: MacGibbon and Kee, 1969.