New Critical Perspectives on Ageing Women in the Writings of Doris Lessing

Abstract

This book uses some of Doris Lessing’s fictional texts as a springboard for making new contributions to the study of ageing, and more specifically, on the ageing of women. Lessing’s fiction invites a critical political, cultural and ethical reflection at the intersections between literature and culture in the final years of the twentieth century and the first few of the current one. Lessing’s narrative reflects on the complexity of older women’s lives, their acquiescence or disagreement with social norms, and how to negotiate the effects of the passage of time. The four chapters and conclusion discuss the various elements that serve as indicators of the well-being or ill-being of this diverse human group, including health, place of residence, neighbourliness, financial situation, public policies, and nature of relationships.