The Conflict Between A Mother's Need And Her Duty: A Feminist Analysis Of The Fifth Child By Doris Lessing

Abstract

Doris Lessing is most widely regarded as one of English literature's most celebrated contemporary female writers.
She is much interested in the position of women in society and their role in improving it. Unlike other feminist
writers who advocate gender equality, Lessing's feminism is primarily concerned with defending women in the
context of the various social pressures they face in a given society. It is the feminism of an unusual kind. It is a new
form of feminism that is called implicit feminism. The Fifth Child is one of Lessing's novels in which she adopts the
implicit feminist approach in portraying Harriet Lovatts’ character. Harriet Lovatt wishes to live a free life, defying
marriage conventions and maternal life in the 1960s by marrying David and having a large family. As a result, her
society uses her as a scapegoat for deviating from the accepted norms. She emerges as a pleased, dedicated wife and
a mother of four children in the beginning. However, she has to suffer as a result of the unplanned arrival of a fifth
child. Being the mother of a fifth child who is abnormal, Harriet's struggle has become more significant. She finds
herself in a dilemma split between her duties as a wife of a loving husband and her needs as a mother due to the
unplanned arrival of this abnormal fifth child. Harriet's predicament has become significant because she is
condemned not only by the people of the outer society but also by the family members, including the father and the
siblings. Harriet must adapt to her situation on both levels, and in doing so, she must overcome many difficulties in
constructing a new self. In a nutshell, Lessing wants to emphasize how any woman who wants to live on her own is
exacerbated simply by deviating from the prevailing norms in her community.