Abstract
In her late novel, love, again (1996), Doris Lessing represents a penetrative insight of love, providing the widest perspective of love than in any of her previous work. The abundance and variety of plausible les affaires d’amour, which transgress the boundaries of gender, age, geography, and social status, make love, again Lessing’s most “loveful” novel. The narrative responds to this multiplicity accordingly. The essay explores the theme of romantic love of the central female character, Sarah Durham, who is at the centre of the narrative and whose emotional landscape is meticulously mapped. It also aims to unveil the ways Doris Lessing exploits a longstanding tradition of interpreting love in Western philosophy and culture – from Plato to contemporary theorists, including Alain Badiou. Special attention is paid to the interweaving of love and friendship in the relationship of woman and man as well as friendship’s “healing” power for unrequited love encapsulated in the character of Stephen Ellington-Smith. Also, by tracing the transformative impulse of love, the essay tries to bring light on the constructive (in the case of Sarah) and problematic (Stephen) consequences of love.
Highlights
Doris Lessing consolidated and further influenced the women’s liberation movement as her novel The Golden Notebook (1962) was acclaimed as a feminist bible
The author’s novel of 1996, love, again introduces another “free woman” who is from the beginning emancipated from a traditional female script
Sarah and Stephen are friends, even though to the outside eye, it would look like a love affair. Feeling lonely in his love, Stephen seeks Sarah’s help, her advice, and Sarah, in her turn, would appreciate his support too. This kind of friendship is born out of love of two, who in Stendhal’s words, are “preys to mortal uncertainties,” and it is further fuelled by the frustrations of love
Summary
Doris Lessing consolidated and further influenced the women’s liberation movement as her novel The Golden Notebook (1962) was acclaimed (against her stated intent) as a feminist bible. The narration meticulously maps and nuances the emotional landscape of the central female character in love; the depth of penetration in the psychology of this character is allusive of the first volume of Lessing’s autobiographical Under My Skin (1994) which Doris Lessing had published not long before this novel. It is further preserved in the second volume of the author’s autobiography, Walking in the Shade, that appeared a year after the novel. The combination of the two factors – professional and private – gives rise to their strong friendship
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