| Doris Lessing (1919- ) is one of the most significant writers in contemporary British literature. The Diaries of Jane Somers (1984), including The Diary of a Good Neighbour and If the Old Could…, is Lessing's first work after she has reclaimed the voice of realism in her later phase of writing career. In the form of diary, The Diaries of Jane Somers describes the emotion and daily life experience of a middle-aged career woman Jane Somers after the death of her husband and mother. A wide range of topics are covered in this novel, such as youth and age, family responsibility, women and career, mother-daughter relationship, female and male relationship and so on.Researchers at home and abroad have applied various theories to the analysis of the subject matters of The Diaries of Jane Somers, especially the social problem of aging and mother-daughter relationship in it. Based on the previous scholars'researches, this thesis starts from the literary device of doubles applied in this novel to analyze the protagonist Jane's life experiences and her enlightenment through her caring of the old woman Maudie Fowler and her love affairs with Richard. The thesis comes to the conclusion that The Diaries of Jane Somers describes Jane Somers's journey of self-discovery. A study of the life and writing experiences of Doris Lessing reveals that this novel is also the self-discovery of Doris Lessing and her exploration of the woman issue.This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is an introduction to Doris Lessing, researches of The Diaries of Jane Somers at home and abroad, and the purpose and significance of the present research. Chapter Two and Chapter Three mainly focus on the analysis of the protagonist Jane's self-discovery after the death of her husband and mother. The second chapter is Jane's journey in search of mother-daughter intimacy. Jane's feeling to her mother is ambivalent. On the one hand, she hates her and tries her best to distance from her. She can never take good care of her mother while the latter is dying in hospital. On the other hand, she longs for love from her mother. The death of her mother makes Jane feel guilty and extremely uncomfortable. So when she meets by chance the stranger Maudie Fowler, an old lady, in Chemist's, she voluntarily takes the responsibility of looking after her. During Jane's caring of Maudie and communication with her, the two women from different worlds establish mother-daughter intimacy. As the double character of Jane's mother, Maudie substitutes her for a mother to help Jane gradually achieve a better understanding of her own personality and realize the importance of motherhood to the family and children. Chapter Three is an exploration of Jane's journey in search of harmonious men-women relationship. After the death of"mother"Maudie, the now enlightened Jane meets Richard and falls in love. Richard's complaint of his marriage and his wife reveals to Jane what a man can suffer in a cold marriage, which is to some degree what Jane's husband Freddie must have felt. The revelation of Richard compels Jane to reflect on her own marriage with Freddie and realize how cruelly she has treated Freddie, who really loved her. When Jane recognizes that the man she really loves is her dead husband, not Richard and defines Richard as her friend instead of lover, she achieves a new understanding of marriage and relationship between men and women. Chapter Four demonstrates, through a review of Lessing's life and her writing experiences, that The Diaries of Jane Somers is the self-discovery of Lessing's protagonist Jane Somers, and it is also a valuable attempt of Doris Lessing's self-discovery.As a woman writer, Lessing has long been concerned about the woman issue in her writing. The Diaries of Jane Somers is not only her untiring exploration of herself, but also manifests her developing and insightful perspectives on the issue of women. |
