Abstract

The paper tries to analyze the main causes of the communicative barrier between men and women from three aspects: the awakening female consciousness, supreme patriarchy and unequal social classes. “A Woman on a Roof” is about reality and fantasy, which describes a story between a woman and three men. Lessing starts off the story with a description of three men at work on the roof under the burning sunshine. The scene is set at a place with buildings and roofs that symbolize hardness and indifference. Through the whole story, the heroine has few words but actually plays the main role and her character actually demonstrates a part of the topic. Lessing takes great considerations of the dilemma of communication between men and women. 

Keywords: female consciousness; Doris Lessing; A Woman on a Roof; patriarchy

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Literature Review-1

1.2 Female Consciousness and Women’s literature-2

1.3 The Information about Doris Lessing and Her Works-2

1.4 The Relationship between Doris Lessing and Female Consciousness-2

2. Female Consciousness on “A Woman on a Roof”-4

2.1 The Naked Sunbathing-4

2.2 Indifference towards Men-5

2.3 A Mysterious Image of the Female-5

3. Supreme Patriarchy on “A Woman on a Roof”-7

3.1 Male voice-7

3.2 Male actions-7

4. Unequal Social Classes on “A Woman on a Roof”-9

4.1 The Workers and the Sunbather-9

4.2 Plot Setting-9

5. Conclusion-11

Works Cited-12