THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMININITY IN 20TH-CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE: DORIS LESSING AND HER CONTEMPORARIES
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Abstract
This paper explores how femininity was represented in 20th-century English literature through the works of Doris Lessing and her contemporaries such as Virginia Woolf and Angela Carter. It aims to trace the evolution of female identity, subjectivity, and social positioning within the shifting political and cultural contexts of modern Britain. Using feminist literary theory as a critical framework, the study analyses Lessing’s The Golden Notebook and The Grass Is Singing alongside works by Woolf and Carter to illustrate how gender, class, and social expectations shaped the depiction of women. Findings show that Lessing and her peers challenged patriarchal ideologies by portraying complex, psychologically authentic women who negotiate between personal autonomy and social limitation. The study concludes that Lessing’s narratives mark a transitional stage between modernist introspection and postmodern feminist critique.
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References
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Internet sourses
9.https://journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/alls/article/view/4104
10.https://esiculture.com/index.php/esiculture/article/view/1939
11.https://science-technology.uz/index.php/journal/article/view/129 https://bpasjournals.com/library-science/index.php/journal/article/view/2344
12.https://redfame.com/journal/index.php/ijecs/article/view/3081