Doris Lessing

Long neglected by the academic world because of her rejection of belletristic values and resistance to convenient literary taxonomy, Doris Lessing has nonetheless built an international following of serious, dedicated readers. Acknowledging the difficulties posed by the multiple dimensions of Lessings work, Kaplan and Rose have gathered eleven essays that address her artistic, philosophical, political, and psychological complexity, and so provide a welcome introduction to the extraordinary depth and diversity of this important contemporary novelist. Lessing has been described as an alchemical writer, in that her work is directed toward changing peoples lives and perceptions rather than simply recording experience. Accordingly, the contributors examine her various postures and tactics for the purpose of discovering how the alchemical elements inform her various personae. Frederick C. Stern discusses Lessings commitment to radical humanist thought, while Carey Kaplan examines how Lessings imperialist past has shaped her futuristic fiction. Elizabeth Abel offers a feminist interpretation of the pattern of brother-sister incest in Lessings work, showing how Lessing has established Antigone as a female alternative to the Oedipal myth of male incest. Particularly insightful is Eve Bertelsens report of her interview with Lessing, demonstrating how Lessings often evasive style of adversarial dialogue works in concert with her refusal to be conveniently pigeonholed by academic analysis. For those readers new to her work, Doris Lessing: The Alchemy of Survival will serve as a useful introduction to Lessings concerns and techniques. Those who have long admired her writing will find in this collection new keys to understanding Lessings philosophical, political, and psychological complexity.