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Doris LessingA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
British Zimbabwean novelist Doris Lessing (1919-2013) published a wide variety of works, including the novel The Grass Is Singing (1950) and the series Children of Violence (1952-1969). She received many awards, including the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize in Literature, and was ranked as one of the top 50 greatest British writers according to The Times. In 1995, she received an honorary degree from Harvard University.
Her work is widely considered difficult to categorize and is known for experimenting with various ideologies, including communism and Sufism. Though she was hailed as a feminist writer, she often pushed back against that label. Despite this, her feminist thinking echoes in the short story “Through the tunnel,” specifically in the mother’s thoughts about raising Jerry. She does not want to be a stereotypically overbearing mother and allows Jerry to explore and grow independent. Moreover, the story was published in 1955, when Lessing was in the middle of writing her semi-autobiographical series Children of Violence, which was informed by her (temporary) interest in communism and her critical view of traditional female domesticity. The series protagonist, Martha Quest, grows disillusioned with marriage and ultimately rejects it;
By Doris Lessing
A Woman on a Roof
A Woman on a Roof
Doris Lessing
Briefing for a Descent Into Hell
Briefing for a Descent Into Hell
Doris Lessing
Martha Quest
Martha Quest
Doris Lessing
No Witchcraft for Sale
No Witchcraft for Sale
Doris Lessing
Prisons We Choose to Live Inside
Prisons We Choose to Live Inside
Doris Lessing
The Fifth Child
The Fifth Child
Doris Lessing
The Golden Notebook
The Golden Notebook
Doris Lessing
The Grass is Singing
The Grass is Singing
Doris Lessing
To Room Nineteen
To Room Nineteen
Doris Lessing