%0 Journal Article
%T The Subversive Feminine: Sexual Oppression and Sexual Identity in Doris Lessing¡¯s The Golden Notebook
%A Pedram Lalbakhsh
%A Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya
%J Studies in Literature and Language
%D 2011
%I Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture
%R 10.3968/2151
%X Doris Lessing¡¯s The Golden Notebook adopts a complex profile to present its characters¡¯ complex lives. However, of all existing novel¡¯s themes it is women¡¯s oppression and subjugation that come under scrutiny here. The world this novel pictures is a patriarchal capitalist world highly unfavorable to women, and the society it portrays is marked by male-dominance and genderbased discrimination; a society in which ¨C no matter how capable women are ¨C their identity is defined by men and male-defined relations. Accordingly, this paper is looking at this novel from a socialist feminist point of view to identify the facets of sexual oppression and to show how the female characters resist, fight back and rely on their self-defined identity to subvert the oppressive structure they are living in. Based on the findings of this paper we argue that in the novel¡¯s world sexuality, motherhood and mothering are outstanding facets of oppression through which women are overwhelmingly oppressed and exploited by the male-dominated society that discriminates against women as a secondary inferior class. To our understanding, while female characters of the novel have to deal with a lot of pressure imposed by society¡¯s institutions (family and family-like circles) they are capable enough to shrewdly rely on their power and self-defined identity to fight back and subvert the patriarchal capitalist systems that intrude women¡¯s lives in a variety of ways. As we conclude Lessing confirms socialist feminism¡¯s argument that mothering and motherhood are facets of women¡¯s oppression, but she also believes that these two aspects of feminine life can be a part of feminine power to subvert the oppressive systems that are designed to define and enfeeble women¡¯s genuine identity. Key words: Sexual Oppression; Sexual Identity; Doris Lessing; The Golden Notebook
%K Sexual Oppression
%K Sexual Identity
%K Doris Lessing
%K The Golden Notebook
%U http://cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/view/2151