Doris Lessing was originally born on October 22, 1919 in Iran, but her parents were British. At six years old she and her family moved to modern day Zimbabwe because of the promise of wealth and fortune. This is where Lessing lived for most of her life. She attended convent school until she was fourteen but considered herself to be self educated from all her years of reading American and European classics. Growing up where she was the minority, Lessing became very aware that she was “a member of the white minority pitted against a black majority that was abominably treated and still is” (Lessing). Because of this, social awareness is a common theme in some of her early works. This made Lessing a prominent political activist. Writing was not Lessing’s main source of work, she held many office jobs and had two unsuccessful marriages. She finally decided to take the leap and really depend on her writing career when she and her son moved to England in 1949. “The Grass is Singing” was an instant success. From here she continued to write and one of her books “The Golden Notebook” she was attacked for being unfeminine because of her use of female anger. Her response to this was that she was simply writing about what many women think and feel, even if it comes as a surprise. She continued to write and in the 1970-80s, she took a spin on her writing and decided to dive into science fiction writing, focusing on interspace with themes in psychology and consciousness. From here until her death in 2013, Lessing wrote twelve other books, all ranging in themes and topics. Lessing earned the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007, Shakespeare Prize in 1982, and fourteen other prizes between then from all over the world.
This interview with Doris Lessing was in 2001, in London being interviewed by Jennifer Bryne. The interview is based on her book at the time The Sweetest Dream, which is about the effects war has on family and friendships. Lessing starts off by describing how war is almost glamorized in some people’s eyes, slogans are even made out of them. Self righteousness that comes from a result of war is also something that Lessing mentions and those two aspects make her blood run cold. Lessing also is prompted to talk about political powers and the influences they have during times of war. She mentions idealism and how Aldof Hitler was an Idealist but took his ideas to the extreme because of being power motivated. One of the main characters in this book is a communist which is something that Lessing can personally relate to. She was once married to one. Now that she is out of that marriage, she is no longer is in fear of sharing her thoughts, there is no punishment for having ideas or speaking her mind now. Lessing’s views on feminism also comes out during this interview. In the past, she had made remarks towards men that made them outraged. Lessing explained that when she was younger, she questioned the patronization she endured being a female and took that anger she had built up and put it into her writing. However, Lessing does shed light on the “feminists” who go too far and treating men in cruel ways. She says they’re just looking for revenge, someone to take their anger out on, and it was an unpleasant sight to see women who should be banding together for equality, making themselves superior. The interview ends with a little history about Lessing’s childhood and how she responds to it now that she is an adult.
Lessing’s focus here was to not only inform the audience about her new book but also allow the listeners to understand where her certain views are coming from and how she used anger when she was younger as fuel when she was older when it came to writing. She has very strong political views and she manifests those into her writing. Overall, Lessing is a strong minded woman who did not have an issue with putting her thoughts out there for the world to read, and did not care about their initial reactions to her writing. She not only wrote stories in an altered feministic way, but she implemented her own life experiences into stories, which helps the reader connect to not only the story but Lessing herself. Although her works vary from topic to topic, Lessing is considered to be a feminist writer.
Full Story of The Old Chief Mshlanga by Doris Lessing.
Doris Lessing’s The Old Chief Mshlanga is set in an unnamed African country. A white, American family took over a portion of land in Africa, immediately demanding the native people to treat them as a higher power. Even walking on the same path, the native people had to stand to the side and let the white Americans pass by. Lessing started the story in the third person point of view, with a general description of the setting. She then switches to the first person point of view, so the reader can better understand the changes taking place in the eyes of the young girl names Nkossikaas. Nkossikaas was surprised when she was walking, and a group of three African natives were approaching her. She was waiting for them to move aside in respect for her passing. For a sense of protection, she even had a rifle and two dogs following her, waiting for Nkossikaas’ command if she felt she was in danger to attack. They are not usual natives, these men had an air of dignity. The initial encounter between Nkossikaas and the group of natives, she quickly found that this man is an older chief, named Chief Mshlanga, and had met her back when she was a young child. After this friendly encounter and exchange of light conversation, Nkossikaas realized that white settlers and the native Africans can meet with tolerance with each other without there being any hostility. With this new realization of peace, Nkossikaas returns home to her mother and their servant who is also a native and is very quick to obey orders. “Of course, you can see. Blood always tells,” (Lessing, The Old Chief Mshlanga). Nkossikaas then goes off for another walk, this time without the backbone of her gun or dogs. As she is wandering the land that she is unfamiliar with, she begins to feel lonely and starts to panic. She wanted again to met with the old chief and his welcoming nature. Finally finding the old chief, he welcomed her with open arms, having another positive encounter with him and the other natives again, she retraces her steps back home to her farm in hopes to build up a society where the whites and Africans can coexist in peace. Soon after making all this progress, Nkossikaas father’s farm was trampled by a group of goats that belonged to the chief. Her father is enraged and banishes the chief from his land and demands he pays for the damages done with twenty goats which is a big cost to the chief and his people. Nkossikaas’ father did not care and still demanded the payment. Chief then, in his own language stated that all this land you claim as yours is the land that belongs to me and my people. The chief left and was never to be seen again.
Connecting this story to something seen in today’s generation, the standoff nature of those who are sheltered in their own race and religion is very relevant. Students who go to elementary school in America in a very non-diverse area and are integrated into a middle school or high school with students of other cultural and religious backgrounds can result in culture shock. This is relevant in the story because Nkosikass is thoroughly shocked with the first encounter with the chief when he and his men do not walk to the side when she approaches them. Nkossikaas and her family took over land and the chief’s native land and demanded submission from them. Seeing an entirely new group of people that look different from Nkossikaas can easily result in culture shock. Culture shock is when someone experiences a new environment or a new group of people unlike their own and they do not know how to respond. Another relative topic between the book and this generation is that when it comes to retribution or compensation for damaged goods, the owner of the property usually wants more than what the damage is actually done and has no consideration for the offending party. This is true at the end of the story. Nkossikaas’ father demands a large portion of goats from the chief, even though the chief and his people were not able to afford that amount of compensation. The difference however in America there is due process and a court system so when it comes to compensation for lost or damaged goods, it is decided by a judge, not the losing party.
My name is Alyssa Husko. I am a senior studying criminal justice at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. This blog was created for a World Literature class to explore the life and works of contemporary authors. I am originally from New Jersey and plan to return there upon graduation in May 2019 to become a police officer in or near my hometown. While reading different works and about the life of Doris Lessing it opened my eyes to the way girls grow up in third world countries compared to America and how the people who raise you, and who you interact with can be a direct producer of your own prejudices and opinions.
Doris Lessing 