Feminism In Doris Lessing's To Room Nineteen By Doris Lessing

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Published in the latter half of the 20th century, Doris Lessing’s “To Room Nineteen” belongs to the second-wave feminism. Decades ago, the first feminism wave finally accomplished the goal of winning women’s civil rights and political rights. However, an illusion emerged based on such victory that women were already put on an equal footing with men. Considering the lack of an equal and just social environment, it was more in line with the reality that women still suffered from inequality in the patriarchal society. Moreover, comparing with other well-known feminism literary works, for example, Pride and Prejudice, “The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Awakening, the confrontation between male and female protagonists in “To Room Nineteen” existed beneath hostility as the heroine,, Susan Rawlings, seems to share an equal marital status with her husband, Matthew. Some might claim that there still exist fierce clashes, nevertheless, these clashes are indeed the byproducts of Susan’s rebellion as they intensify in accordance with Susan’s awakening. Based on the above two points, “To Room Nineteen” focuses more on …show more content…

After their marriage, Susan leads a life of submission considering that she accepts all the arrangements, such as moving to the house in Richmond, turning into a housewife and reaching a consensus about returning back to work after the children are big enough. The most ridiculous thing about her obedience is that she shows remarkable tolerance to Matthew’s affairs, no matter an occasional fling or a regular mistress. Nevertheless, even though she feels bad-tempered when she is informed, she tries to persuade herself to “understand” (Lessing 3) Matthew instead of “forgive” (Lessing 3). What does not make sense is that she even makes excuses for Matthew’s unfaithfulness, with the intention of convincing herself that this handsome man has “married his body and soul” (Lessing 3) to

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