Studying On The Cleft From The Perspective Of Ecocriticism

Doris Lessing is a great and unique female writer in the British and even the world literary world.Her magnum opus,The Golden Notebook is considered classic books of women’s literature,and she herself is called Joan of Arc for the emancipation of women.The Cleft,a novel published in the same year that Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature,attracted both attention and criticism from feminists for its portrayal of women as conformist,passive and timid.In fact,The Cleft is not only a feminist work,but also an ecological literature rooted in ecological phenomena and reflecting on ecological problems.Throughout Lessing’s writing career of more than half a century,ecological problem is not only the base point of her writing thought,but also an important dimension of her literary creation.Her works,such as Special Cat,Memoirs of a Survivor and Mara and Dan:An Adventure,all reveal Lessing’s worries about ecological problems and thoughts on the future fate of human beings.Her description of the ecological crisis has had an impact on many intellectuals in Europe and America,giving them another perspective on social development.This paper is composed of three parts: introduction,text and conclusion.The introduction first introduces Lessing’s life experience,major works,creative style and concept,then reviews the research status of The Cleft at home and abroad,and finally summarizes the origin,development,concept definition and main theories of ecocriticism.The text is divided into three chapters: The first chapter analyzes the ecological problems presented in The Cleft,mainly the imbalance of natural ecology and the conflict between the sexes.Natural ecological problems include the destruction of nature by human beings and the punishment of human beings by nature.With the development and expansion of human power,man began to destroy nature wantonly.Humans invade forests,burn trees and kill wild animals.While destroying and enslaving nature,man has also been retaliated by nature.The great storm in the novel is a warning to man’s destruction of nature.Conflicts between the sexes not only include castration and murder by primitive females to males,but also injuries by males to females,such as mass rape of females and blowing up the rift mountain,cutting off the connection between females and their ancestors.The second chapter,combining with the text,elaborates the root of the ecological problem,mainly criticizes the anthropocentrism,the view of conquering and controlling nature,and the ambition and desire of human beings.Lessing emphasized that in the process of production and life,human beings must recognize the ecological order and eradicate the anti-ecological ideology--anthropocentrism.We must abandon the value that man can conquer nature,that is,man rules and conquers nature;Human ambitions and desires must be brought under control if sustainable development is to be achieved.The third chapter systematically explains Lessing’s ecological ideal in The Cleft from two aspects: man and nature and man and man.Lessing expresses the harmony between human and nature by writing about the close connection between human and nature,human’s reverence for nature and nature’s gift to human.The relationship between the two sexes develops from the initial mutual hostility to the gradual integration,and in the process of integration,there are many conflicts.Finally,the two sexes reach reconciliation and imagine their life together in the new homeland.The evolution of this series of relationships reflects the harmony between people.The conclusion emphasizes the space that Lessing’s work can explore for ecological issues and the prospect for the future.