DORIS LESSING'S "TO ROOM 19" SYMBOLS

TO Room 19: SYMBOLS Women in patriarchal societies are brought up to have certain values, like to have a desire to be good mothers and good wives. However, as much as they try to do these things, they find that their passions and instincts are put down and this leads to misery and insanity. Women have voiced their concerns about the problems of being a woman in a man's society for years. Feminist literature existed before feminism as a movement did. Finally, in the 20th century, this led to the second and third waves of feminism criticizing the limitations of patriarchal and sexist society for women. Doris Lessing in her story “To Room Nineteen” uses many symbols to explain how women in patriarchal society feel oppressed and unfulfilled. Here I would like to discuss the symbols I consider to be the most important. These symbols are the snake eating its own tail , the devil, poison and the shell. When the narrator begins to explain Susan's life, she describes how ideal and cloudless it seemed to be. She shows that marriage of the Rawlings was “grounded in intelligence” and how much things finally turned out to became a “failure of intelligence”(251) . This transition is used to explain how women in a patriarchal society feel, how despite all their efforts they end up being unhappy. The narrator, speaking about Rawlings, provides the analogy of a “snake biting its tail”(253). Chris Sheridan in his article “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Problems” states that traditionally symbol of snake eating its own tail used to symbolize “ the eternal cycle of life”, “wholeness” or infinity. Yet, in Lessing’s story the snake eating its own tail is a symbol of endless futility and absurdity of their life. “Matthew's job for the sake of Susan, children, house and garden – which caravanserai needed a well paid job to maintain it. And Susan's practical intelligence for the sake of Matthew, the children, the house and the garden – which unit would collapse in a week without her” (253).

Cited: Albert, Michael. “The Personal is Political?!” Web resource. Accessed 12/17/2013. Available from Burkom, Selma R. “Only Connect”. Vol. 11, No. 1. 1968. Kandiyoti, Deniz. “Bargaining with Patriarchy”. Gender & Society. Vol. 2, No. 3. Pp. 274-290. 1988. Quawas, Rula. “Lessing 's 'To Room Nineteen: Susan 's Voyage into the Inner Space of 'Elsewhere”. Atlantis. Vol. 29.1, pp. 107-122. 2007. Sandiou, Anna. “To Room Nineteen. What Doris Lessing Has To Say About Women”. Sheridan, Chris. “Ouroboros: Eternal Symbol of Endings and Beginnings”. Ancient Wisdom for Modern Problems. Web resource. Accessed 12/19/2013. Available from Westkott, Marcia. “Feminist Criticism of the Social Sciences”. Harvard Educational Review. Vol. 49, No. 4. Winter 1979. http://gas.sagepub.com/content/2/3/274.short http://ancientwisdomformodernproblems.blogspot.com/2009/10/ouroboros-eternal-symbol-of-endings-and.html http://glipho.com/annasandoiu/to-room-nineteen-what-doris-lessing-has-to-say-about-women