THE PARADOX OF FREE WOMEN IN DORIS LESSING'S “THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK”

Although Doris Lessing's “The Golden Notebook” is regarded as a feminist novel by many scholars, it is also mostly criticised due to the overt male domination upon various female characters. Moving away from the feminist purpose by focusing on the experiences and struggles of these different women characters, Lessing emphasises the significance of peeling off all the socially constructed labels and recognising the distinctive true identity particular to each woman. Following this focus, the author also creates an analogy between the content and the form of the novel by reflecting the chaos in the mind of the women characters to the chaotic form which is divided into parts. Hereby, it can be aptly argued that by building a chaotic atmosphere around the women characters who deem themselves free, Lessing problematises the concept of free women in this particular novel. This paper sets out to analyse how Lessing illustrates the paradox of free women in “The Golden Notebook” through the chaotic content and form.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook, Free Women, Male Domination, Feminism

THE PARADOX OF FREE WOMEN IN DORIS LESSING'S “THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK”

Keywords:

Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook, Free Women, Male Domination, Feminism,

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