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An Analysis of Femininity and Masculinity in Doris Lessing’s the Diaries of Jane Somers

Author: XueYing
Tutor: LiMin
School: Shandong Normal University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: femininity masculinity Doris Lessing The Diaries of Jane Somers
CLC: I561.074
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2012
Downloads: 147
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Abstract


Doris Lessing’s The Diaries of Jane Somers tells about the stories that happenedto Jane in her later life, which involves other characters like Maudie, Richard, Joyce,Charlie and her nieces Jill and Kate. In it Lessing reveals the ideal personality of bothmen and women in modern society, which is closely related to the ideal of androgyny.This thesis aims at finding out the way to the ideal femininity by analyzing Jane’sexperiences in the novel. Besides, it searches for the way to the ideal masculinitythrough examining the male characters like Freddie, Charlie and Richard. Meanwhile,theories relating to stereotype femininity and masculinity, the feminist thought on“sisterhood”and the new women, subordinated masculinity and theories on intimacyand caring will be covered in the explanation of many interpersonal relationships inthe novel.The thesis consists of six parts. The first part is introduction, which first gives abrief review of Doris Lessing’s life, her works and thought, then the previous studieson The Diaries of Jane Somers.Then in the second part the theoretical foundation of the thesis will be introduced.First the definition of femininity and masculinity will be given for the convenience ofthe analysis of the novel. Then the gender stereotype is mentioned as an indispensablereference in the illustration of the new femininity and masculinity advocated byLessing. The stereotypical femininity and masculinity are under reconstruction underthe rapid developments in the studies of women and men. The following part of thischapter will discuss the developments on both femininity and masculinity at the timewhen The Diary of Jane Somers is written.The third part is the specific analysis of the work from the perspective offemininity. Feminism in the 1960s encouraged women to go out of the domesticsphere and go into the real world in order to achieve the respect from the society.Although it had sent women out from the family to the public sphere, it failed to set them free from their inner world. Doris Lessing points out that the real freedom lies inthe connection rather than in the alienation resulted from self-narcissism. The idealfemininity involves the acknowledgement of both the feminine values of love,nurturance and intimacy and the masculine values like independence and theshouldering of responsibilities to others. The acquirement of ideal femininity alsocorrects the faults of the radical feminists’refusal of connection to men and the faultsof the stereotypical femininity’s submission and whole devotion.The fourth part is an analysis from the angle of masculinity. When hegemonicmasculinity fails to cater to the needs of the society, a new masculinity comes out.Men find themselves retreating from the outside world in the gradual loss of authorityto women and entering the inner world which is still strange to them. They areencouraged to show their weakness to women and express their real feelings to thepublic. In the meantime they are asked to embrace a subordinated masculinity. Thesemen show the intention to care for the family while taking a“triple role”in thedomestic sphere. They search for the lost love and intimacy, which were oncedegraded as the feminine values, in the adaptation to the new role in the family.The fifth part aims to connect Lessing’s work with the ideal femininity andmasculinity of recent studies. The notion of androgyny is proposed in the text incomparison to Lessing’s ideal personality. Thus Lessing’s ideal femininity andmasculinity include the better part of both the stereotypical femininity and masculinity.This part functions as a sublimation of Lessing’s work and her thought.The last part is a conclusion of the whole thesis.

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