Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft
Women’s oppression and subjugation reflected in literature has always been a controversial issue for writers and critics and Lessing is a novelist whose long career of writing demonstrates her preoccupation with related issues. The present paper approaches Doris Lessing’s novel, The Cleft, from a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM
2014
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/7735/1/6295-18841-1-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1825726095559753728 |
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| author | Lalbakhsh, Pedram |
| author_facet | Lalbakhsh, Pedram |
| author_sort | Lalbakhsh, Pedram |
| collection | UKM |
| description | Women’s oppression and subjugation reflected in literature has always been a controversial issue for writers
and critics and Lessing is a novelist whose long career of writing demonstrates her preoccupation with related
issues. The present paper approaches Doris Lessing’s novel, The Cleft, from a socialist feminist point of view to
foreground Lessing’s understanding of women in both past and present societies in which women are
subjugated and oppressed by capitalist and patriarchal systems and ideologies. The author of this paper argues
that characterising exploitative and dominating male characters Lessing tries to introduce them as naive and
unsophisticated invaders who seem pathetic and inhumane simultaneously. She identifies an intellectual gap
between males and females that can justify all the problems and miseries of female race until the twentieth
century and afterward. Thus, as the author understands it, Lessing’s novel is an attempt to subvert such longestablished
masculine ideology and defy the monstrous power exertion that has had women as its most
important target. As Lessing shows in her novel, men’s use of a fake history and male-defined ideology has led
to women’s domination and inferiority. However, she demonstrates that women’s unique intellectual power can
be their weapon in fighting against patriarchy and forceful power exertion, paving the way for women to
achieve their true essence. The findings of this study demonstrate that The Cleft is Lessing’s invitation to refresh
women’s historical consciousness, to understand and believe that most personal problems and suffering have
their equivalent in others’ lives, even in the lives of the ancestral mothers a long time before history begins. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T04:05:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | ukm.eprints-7735 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T04:05:39Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ukm.eprints-77352016-12-14T06:45:01Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/7735/ Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft Lalbakhsh, Pedram Women’s oppression and subjugation reflected in literature has always been a controversial issue for writers and critics and Lessing is a novelist whose long career of writing demonstrates her preoccupation with related issues. The present paper approaches Doris Lessing’s novel, The Cleft, from a socialist feminist point of view to foreground Lessing’s understanding of women in both past and present societies in which women are subjugated and oppressed by capitalist and patriarchal systems and ideologies. The author of this paper argues that characterising exploitative and dominating male characters Lessing tries to introduce them as naive and unsophisticated invaders who seem pathetic and inhumane simultaneously. She identifies an intellectual gap between males and females that can justify all the problems and miseries of female race until the twentieth century and afterward. Thus, as the author understands it, Lessing’s novel is an attempt to subvert such longestablished masculine ideology and defy the monstrous power exertion that has had women as its most important target. As Lessing shows in her novel, men’s use of a fake history and male-defined ideology has led to women’s domination and inferiority. However, she demonstrates that women’s unique intellectual power can be their weapon in fighting against patriarchy and forceful power exertion, paving the way for women to achieve their true essence. The findings of this study demonstrate that The Cleft is Lessing’s invitation to refresh women’s historical consciousness, to understand and believe that most personal problems and suffering have their equivalent in others’ lives, even in the lives of the ancestral mothers a long time before history begins. Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2014 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/7735/1/6295-18841-1-PB.pdf Lalbakhsh, Pedram (2014) Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 20 (3). pp. 17-26. ISSN 0128-5157 http://ejournals.ukm.my/3l/index |
| spellingShingle | Lalbakhsh, Pedram Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft |
| title | Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft |
| title_full | Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft |
| title_fullStr | Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft |
| title_full_unstemmed | Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft |
| title_short | Subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in Doris Lessing‟s The Cleft |
| title_sort | subverting masculine ideology and monstrous power exertion in doris lessing s the cleft |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/7735/1/6295-18841-1-PB.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lalbakhshpedram subvertingmasculineideologyandmonstrouspowerexertionindorislessingsthecleft |