Doris Lessing's Archives: Communism, Decolonisation and Literary Practice

本文的目的是考察多丽丝·莱辛的文学实践是如何受到大英帝国的衰落、共产主义的兴起以及随后20世纪女性劳动的转变所塑造的，以及她如何利用她的女性主人公来探索这些文化时刻及其对女性身份的影响。我将使用UEA和哈里·兰瑟姆中心的档案作为我的主要文本。我的目标是通过性别、劳工、文化史和平等主义理论的视角来探讨莱辛的小说和档案，以期在现有研究的基础上再接再厉。在莱辛已出版的作品中，我将以她以共产主义和殖民主义为中心的小说为基础进行研究，特别是《暴力的孩子》系列(1952-69)和《金色笔记》(1962)。通过平等主义理论的框架，我将采用解释主义方法论，质疑莱辛作品写作和出版的社会学范式。带着解释主义仔细阅读我的文本，将使我能够质问莱辛在她的小说中所涉及的权力系统以及那些创造了她写作氛围的系统。我将在UEA和人权委员会多丽丝·莱辛档案中进行档案研究，重点是与上述小说以及1950-1970年期间、南部非洲和她与共产党的参与有关的手稿和信件。莱辛与她同时代的人--包括玛格丽特·德拉布尔、默里尔·斯帕克、艾丽斯·默多克--的通信将是理解作者的文学实践和她与政治文化的接触的丰硕基础。我将分析莱辛在小说出版之前的个人文件，我将重点关注她在津巴布韦(当时的南罗得西亚)生活和早期参与共产主义的那段时间。例如，《怀特霍恩书信》将阐明她如何认同这些历史时刻，它们如何塑造她的写作，以及她如何在这些影响下塑造自己的女性主人公。我还将回顾与英国共产主义团体和大英帝国统治下的南部非洲的共产主义团体有关的历史材料，以调查性别在这个政治派别中的作用。

The intention of my thesis is to examine how Doris Lessing's literary practice was shaped by the decline of the British Empire, the rise of communism, and the subsequent transformation of women's labour in the 20th century, and how she employs her women protagonists to explore these cultural moments and their effect on women's identity. I will use the archives at UEA and the Harry Ransom Centre as my primary texts.I aim to build on the existing research by approaching Lessing's novels and archives through the lens of gender, labour, cultural history, and egalitarian theory. Of Lessing's published works, I will base my research on her novels which engage with communism and colonialism as central themes, in particular The Children of Violence series (1952-69), and The Golden Notebook (1962).Through the frame of egalitarian theory, I will employ an interpretivist methodology, questioning the sociological paradigms within which Lessing's work was written and published. Making a close reading of my texts with interpretivism in mind will allow me to interrogate the systems of power that Lessing engages with in her fiction as well as those that created the climate of her writing.I will perform archival research in the UEA and HRC Doris Lessing archives, with a focus on manuscripts and correspondence relating to the aforementioned novels and to the period of 1950-1970, to southern Africa, and to her involvement with the Communist Party. Lessing's correspondence with her contemporaries - including Margaret Drabble, Muriel Spark, Iris Murdoch - will be fruitful ground for understanding the author's literary practice and her engagement with political culture. I will analyse Lessing's personal papers which precede the publication of the novels I will focus on and span the period of her living in Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) and early involvement with communism. For instance, 'The Whitehorn letters' will illuminate how she identified with these historical moments, how they shaped her writing and the way she built her women protagonists under these influences. I will also review relevant historical materials relating to communist groups in the UK, and those based in Southern Africa under the rule of the British Empire, to investigate the role of gender within this political faction.