The Madness In Lessing's Novels

Doris Lessing is one of the most important writers of contemporary literature. As a common topic in Lessing's varied works, madness not only builds some kind of rebellious nature in main characters with dreaming, unconsciousness and strange behaviors, but also displays reflection on contemporary rationality and culture made by the author. This thesis, based on three works of Lessing-The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and Briefing for A Descent into Hell, concentrating on the common topic madness, following the path of the author's reflection and using other works involving madness as comparison, examines uniqueness of madness image and madness theme in Lessing's work and evaluates Lessing's position in post-modem literature. The thesis concludes that madness in Lessing's works is not just a writing strategy or technique, but a status of modem life, an original human nature suppressed and hidden by rationality. Lessing wants to change common view towards madness through breaking illusive dichotomy deeply rooted in western culture and seeks future path for modern culture through critiquing modern people's madness.In Chapter One, through researching the theories about madness, we can see that the so-called madness has different meanings in different periods of time.In Chapter Two, through analyzing how white girl Mary in Grass Is Singing becomes mad in African colony, we can see that it is inevitable that madness is defined, forbidden and harmed in a world dominated by rationality.In Chapter Three, through analyzing how Anna in The Golden Notebook regains courage to live by the help of madness, we can see that madness is not sickness, but a medicine to reconcile conflictions and a power to pursue redemption.In Chapter Four, through analyzing how Charles in Briefing for A Descent into Hell deals with two distinct worlds he lives in-the outside world which views him as amnesiac, sick person and madman and inside world fulfilled with insights where he searches as an anonymous person-we can see Lessing's reflection on western traditional culture, rationality hegemonism infiltrated in daily life and preference for Sufism which treats everything as a whole by intuition.