本論文旨在探討多麗絲•萊辛小說中性別與空間的關連。藉由引用女性主義地理學家對空間與家的觀念重整來闡釋萊辛如何從兒時座落於非洲的家園發展為小說世界中流動的疆域。本研究針對萊辛小說中的女性角色突破家庭與公共空間，女性與男性特質的界限來獲得女性主體。
首章說明本論文之動機，文本之間的互動、文獻探討、方法論及結構。次章研究《草在歌唱》小說中家庭的空間對女性性別認同的影響。藉由踐越性別、種族及階級等二元的對立界限，主人翁瑪莉最終以悲劇收場，但也突顯殖民地中男性主宰的漏洞。
第三章以女性覺醒小說的方式探討《夏夜將至》中女主角在走出家庭的過 程中藉由公共空間對女性身體的歧視與擠壓中醒悟到自身的主體性的缺乏。第四章分析《金色筆記》中安娜試圖從書寫與異性關係中取得在空間的安全感，而她的各色筆記顯露出對空間的焦慮及不安。
第五章以《最甜美的夢》中大家園地理及空間安排中探討時空的壓縮，全球化對母性的影響，及女性化身為救世主的憧憬。末章為整部論文總結。

This dissertation investigates the problematic locality “home” and its relationship with the female protagonists in Doris Lessing’s novels by studying the interrelationship between gender and space. By applying the concepts of feminist geographers Linda McDowell and Doreen Masssey, this dissertation interprets how Lessing develops her childhood home, the source of nostalgia, to a fluid and dynamic domain in her imaginary world. I will argue that Lessing’s women break through the arbitrary distinctions between the domestic and public, feminine and masculine, within and without the boundaries by infusing into contemporary elements such as mobility and globalization of women.
The first chapter introduces the motivation of my dissertation, the intertextuality between these texts, then literature reviews on Lessing scholars, and on the speculative aspect of feminist geography, and finally the methodology and organization of the whole dissertation. In Chapter Two, the impact of domestic space on female subjectivity is the focus in The Grass Is Singing. Gender, race, and class barriers are violated by the female protagonist Mary Turner when she transgress the boundaries between domestic and public, white and black, master and servant. Chapter Three deals with the self-development of the female protagonist in Summer before the Dark. The female subjectivity must be reconstructed through the process of negotiation between the private and the public spaces. The heroine Kate Brown undertakes an ordeal physically and spiritually to achieve her self-awakening in sexuality and autonomy.
Chapter Four focuses on women’s anxiety about their identities in urban city in The Golden Notebook. The sense of insecurity in both private and public spaces is manifested in Anna Wulf, her writing, and her reflection of sexual relationship. In the fifth chapter, three essential factors that affect the concepts of home in this novel: time-space compression, globalization, and the changing relationship between biological mothers and their daughters are discussed in Lessing’s latest full-length novel The Sweetest Dream. The final chapter is a conclusion of the whole dissertation.

Table of Contents

Chapter One Introduction ………………………………………….……………….1


Chapter Two A Female Body Trapped in an African Farm: Gender and Space in The Grass Is Singing …………….………………………………...........26

Chapter Three Away from Home: A Woman’s Journey of Self-Discovery in The Summer Before the Dark ……….…………….……………….......52

Chapter Four A Space of Self in The Golden Notebook ………………………….82

Chapter Five Nostalgia and Fulfillment: A Home of Trans-nations and Globalization in The Sweetest Dream ….………………………………………111

Chapter Six Conclusion ……………………………………………………..……135

Works Cited ……………………………………………….……………………..…158

Works Cited

I. Primary Sources

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990.
Lessing, Doris. African Stories. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981.
---. “Events in the Skies.” Harper’s 276 (1988):30-32.
---. Going Home.1968. New York: HarperPerennial, 1996.
---. The Golden Notebook. 1962. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1984.
---.The Grass is Singing.1950. New York: New American Library, 1950.
---. “The Jewel of Africa.” New York Review of Books 50 (2003):6-10.
---. “A Small Personal Voice.” 1957. Paul Schlueter, ed. A Small Personal Voice: Essays, Reviews, Interviews. New York: Knopf, 1974. 3-21.
---. The Summer before the Dark. New York: Knopf, 1973.
---. The Sweetest Dream.2001. London: Flamingo, 2002.
---. Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
---. Walking in the Shade: Volume Two of My Autobiography, 1949-1962. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.

II. Secondary Sources

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Bertelsen, Eve. “The Golden Notebook: The African Background.” Approaches to Teaching Lessing’s The Golden Notebook. Ed. Carey Kaplan and Ellen Cronan Rose. New York: MLA, 1989. 30-36.
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