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ABSTRACT

Doris Lessing

，

winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature

，

is a literary giant

with consummate writing talent. Mellow and exquisite ideas flow through her works,

inspiring an eternal literary vitality and winning her an undisputed title of “evergreen

tree”. Abundant critical articles on Lessing’s works have emerged, while scant

attentions are paid to her science fictions.

Rounding her declining years, the old gentle woman still strolls along the

verge of real and fantasy. Uncanny sci-fi factors, dismal gothic air and eerily ancient

fables mingle together in her sci-fis. This paper attempts to interpret Lessing’s three

science fictions The Marriages between Zones Three, Four and Five, Mara and Dann,

an Adventure, The Cleft from the ecofeminist perspective. Ecofeminism endeavors to

smash the ossified \"patriarchal\" dual system and set up a new pattern of relations of

co-existence between man and man, man and nature. Although the three fictions are

completely different in style, their common nostalgic yearning for harmony happens

to coincide with ecofeminist kernel thought.

First, this paper explores the permeated ecological panic in the three science

fictions, pointing out that anthropocentrism is the root of it. Lessing uses an almost

callous mood to depict an alienated world. Readers are appalled by the bleak

wasteland in Mara and Dann, the biochemical threat in The Marriages between Zones

Three, Four and Five and the ferocious killings in The Cleft.

Second, this paper explores the intimate relationship between women and

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nature, aiming to penetrate the dazzling shell of Lessing’s sci-fis and hold fast to its

ecofeminist core.

Then, this paper tries to unveil Lessing’s hard journey of deconstruction. In the

three fictions, the heroines, once submissive nobodies, cast off their obscurity and

turn shining host. Witty Mara and tough Allth present unique temperament which

the past female images are devoid of. Men, inturn, lose their sting in aggression and

domination. Unprecedentedly, woman in the Cleft becomes the father of mankind.

More strikingly, women can reproduce without men’s involvement; they can have a

baby with the help of the full moon only. Silencing the strong and making the weak

speak release strong destructive force and thus become a weapon for Lessing to smash

the fixed patriarchal binary system.

Last, this paper argues further that Lessing doesn’t confine herself to the

traditional feminism. She doesn’t want to replace the male-centered system by

building a new “female-centered” binary system. For her, harmonious co-existence is

the only way out. The marriages between zones three, four and five usher in a “Serene

Eden”, persistent pursuit of “oasis” in Mara and Dann unfolds human’s return trip, the

war between men and women comes to an end with the collapse of the cleft.

Unexpectedly, Lessing gives us such a tender conclusion beneath the subversive

surface. The three works illuminate both a journey of overthrowing patriarchal

dualism and a journey of rebuilding harmonious ecology, thus, they are definitely a

sample dyed with ecofeminist color of life.

Key Words: science fiction, ecofeminism

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摘 要

英国女作家、2007 年诺贝尔文学奖获得者多丽丝·莱辛是一位才气横溢的

文坛巨匠。醇厚的韵致和深邃的意境绵延贯穿于她的文学创作中，孕育出恒久的

艺术生命力，使之被誉为“文坛常青树”。文学界对莱辛作品的评论译著颇丰，

但对其科幻小说的研究尚待填补。莱辛的科幻小说在抒写现实的同时又糅合了诡

异的科幻因子、阴郁的哥特式氛围以及古老的寓言童话，素有“科幻寓言童话”

之称。已近耄耋之年的老人，仍执著地游弋于真与幻交织的边缘，侵润着读者的

心灵。本文意从生态女性主义的视角对莱辛的三部科幻力作《三四五区间的联

姻》、《玛拉与丹恩》和《裂缝》进行解读。生态女性主义旨在揭开女性与自然

间的契合本质，打破男权中心操控下僵化的二元对立体系，建构一种人与人、人

与自然和谐共生的新型关系。三部小说虽风格迥异，但作品中所阐释的对人类中

心主义的批判、女性与自然的亲密关系、以及对和谐共生的精神探求都恰与生态

女性主义的内核思想不谋而合。

首先，本文将探析三部科幻小说中弥漫的生态恐慌，指出“人类中心主义”

的催化是其生态失衡的根源。莱辛锐利地洞穿了“男权至尊”熏染下的贪婪人性，

她用近乎冷酷幽暗的笔触绘出异化、失衡和分裂的世界。《三四五区间的联姻》

中生化危机的肆虐，《马拉与丹恩历险记》中艾弗里克州酷烈而蛮荒的末日景象，

《裂缝》中裂缝族与异族间的血腥杀戮都一一呈现着恣意弥漫的生态恐慌。自我

的迷失，信仰的背弃，人际关系的冷漠疏离强烈地撞击着读者的灵魂。

其次，本文将探讨作品中蕴涵的女性与自然间的亲密关系，以期穿透莱辛科

幻小说的炫目外壳，紧紧抓住其生态女性理念的精神内核。

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然后，本文将梳理莱辛艰辛的解构之旅。三部小说中，莱辛笔下的女主人们

一改往昔传统女性形象的黯淡无光，摇身成为坚毅勇敢的鲜明主体。睿智的玛拉

和冷峻的三区女王爱斯具有了以往女性形象里所不具备的特殊气质。男人们则逐

渐收起了征服者的锋芒，男性欲望的支配性和侵略性在这里得以消融。与《圣经》

记载不同，《裂缝》中的女人们更是破天荒地成为了人类的始祖。裂缝族起初只

靠圆月就能独立繁衍，无需男人的参与。这种强者缄默，弱者发声的反叛式写作

充溢着艰辛的解构思路，迸射出强大的瓦解力量。“重写”经典成了莱辛用以摧

毁既定二元对立体系并重构经典的利器。

最后，本文将进一步指出莱辛并不囿于传统女权主义下的女性解放，而是试

图探索更为宏大而深刻的主题。她打破传统但无意建构一个新的“女权中心”体

系取而代之，而是要寻求一种“莱辛式”的救赎之道。莱辛主张两性间平等互补

增进理解和同情，强权不能平息混乱，和谐共生才是人类走出困境的唯一出路，

这与生态女性的理念追求遥相呼应。三，四，五区间的大融合开辟了一个“伊甸

园般的恬静世界”，马拉与丹恩对“海边绿洲”的不懈追寻引领着人类的回归之

旅，扭曲的两性关系在裂缝的崩塌中得以终结和消解。小说结尾处，两性间曾疾

风骤雨般的厮打消失了，窗外一片寂静，

屋内满是温馨，男人与女人灵肉合一，

人与自然和谐为伴。颠覆性的文本表皮之下，老人给出的结论却是如此的满怀温

情，让人颇感意外。从某种层面来说，这三部科幻小说共同演绎了一段艰辛的父

权制瓦解之旅以及和谐生态的构建之旅，因而，绝对可以堪称一桢浸染着生态女

性生命之色的标本。

关键词：科幻小说；生态女性主义

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CONTENTS

ABSTRACT (ENGLISH)............................................................................................i

ABSTRACT (CHINESE)...........................................................................................iii

CHAPTER

I

.

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................7

A. Previous Research ...............................................................................................7

B. An Introduction of Lessing’s Main Science Fictions and a Probe the Writing

Motivations ..........................................................................................................9

1.

A brief Introduction of the Three Main Science Fictions ...........................9

2.

Creation Motives.......................................................................................13

C. Review of the eco-feminist theory and Its Evolution........................................18

D. Thesis Statement ...............................................................................................20

Ⅱ

.

THE PERMEATED ECOLOGICAL PANIC AND THE ROOT CAUSE OF I

T IN THE THREE SCI-FIS ..................................................................................24

A. Alienated Nature .................................................................................................24

1. Biochemical Crisis and Infertility in the Marriages between Zones Three,

Four and Five .............................................................................................25

2. Draughty and Bleak Wasteland in Mara and Dann....................................26

3. Ferocious killings in The Cleft ..................................................................26

B. Imbalanced Human Society...............................................................................27

1. Distorted Relationship between Women and Men.....................................27

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2. Culture Discrimination...............................................................................28

C. Anthropocentrism – The Root of the Ecologic Imbalance ................................32

Ⅲ

.

THE INTIMACY BETWEEN WOMEN AND NATURE................................35

A. Enslaved Nature and Trapped women ..............................................................36

B. Perfect fusion of women and nature..................................................................37

IV

.

DISMANTLING THE PATRIARCHAL CONSTRUCTION .........................43

A. Fortitudinous and resourceful Queen Allth .......................................................44

B. Persevering and Witty Girl Mara.......................................................................46

C. The Cleft’s Independent Reproduction..............................................................49

V

.

HARMONIOUS CO-EXISTENCE – THE ONLY WAY OUT .........................52

A. Transcending Feminism, Setting up Harmony between Men and Women .......52

1. Allth’s reconciliation with Ben Ata............................................................53

2.

The of Dann and Mara, Dann and Kira, Mara and Shabis............54

3. The Collapse of the Cleft and Integration of “the Cleft” and “the Squirt” 55

B. Returning to the “Eco-centric” Construction ....................................................55

1. “Serene Eden” —the Marriages between Zones Three, Four and Five...56

2. “Oasis beside the Sea” — Mara and Dann’s Persistent Pursuit.................56

3. “Crystal shore” — Common habitat of “the Cleft” and “the Squirt” ........59

VI

.

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................62

WORKS CITED.........................................................................................................66

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .........................................................................................69

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Previous Research

Dubbed as “literature grandmother”, Doris Lessing is a prolific writer and a

profound thinker. Lessing created a lot of first-rank works throughout her brilliant life,

most of which dwelled on women’s existent condition and their spiritual plight. The

Golden Notebook, published in 1962, was definitely among the best of her classic

feminist works. Throughout her writing career, Lessing created over 50 novels, 10

short stories, 2 autobiographies and many essays, scripts and critical articles. She

probed the issues of racial discrimination, environmental pollution, atomic war,

the US-Soviet cold war and sex-war.

Western scholars kept consistent enthusiasms towards Lessing’s works. Famous

literary critics Harold Bloom described Lessing as “an extraordinary thinker, if not an

epoch-making figure, at least the representative one of the century” (56).

Compared with the heated debating scenes abroad, domestic studies appeared to

be blank and weak. According to the statistics, from 1980 to 1990, only 5 introductive

articles about Lessing appeared. Sun Zongbai’s Honest Writer-Doris Lessing was the

first article about Lessing at home. She praised Lessing’s writing as “true and rich”

(3). From 1991 to 2002, some elementary studies of Lessing’s writing styles and

writing techniques turned up. From 2003 to 2007, studies grew gradually. Over 20

articles emerged during those five years (Chen 24).

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Lessing won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2007, which inspired exuberant

study of her works. A pile of articles interpreted Lessing’s work from different aspects.

In that year alone, over 52 academic papers appeared at the national level core

journals, including some pre-eminent literary journals like Contemporary Foreign

Literature, Foreign Literature Review and Foreign Literature Studies. Critics

interpreted Lessing’s work mainly from the following aspect: feminism,

psycho-analysis, Sufi mystic and religious criticism.

Reluctant to be pigeonholed as feminist writer, Lessing spared no effort in

broadening her writing vision. She dabbled in various literary styles and subject

matters, among which science fictions was definitely her undisputable literary

achievement. While, abundant critic articles on Lessing’s works have emerged, scant

attentions are paid to her science fictions.

Wang Lili, Ph.D. supervisor of the Fujian Normal University, probed the

art and philosophy harbored in Lessing’s science fictions. Tian Xiangbin and Zhang

Song from the Three Gorges University made a tentative study of the feminist

consciousness and symbolism in Lessing’s sci-fi The Cleft. Hu Qin analysed the

dystopian narrative structure in The Marriages between Zones Three, Four and Five.

Moreover, mixed reactions existed among the domestic critics. Li Fuxiang

made a comparatively deep research on Lessing’s science fictions and he accepted

them as “a successful exploration and a meaningful try” (4). Liu Xuelan saw them as

“a test to integrate tradition” (2). However, Zhang Zhongzai regarded Lessing’s

sci-fis as a total “failure” (3).

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B. An Introduction of Lessing’s Main Science Fictions and a Probe

the Writing Motivations

Rounding her declining years, Lessing still strolls along the verge of real

and fantasy. Uncanny sci-fi factors, dismal gothic air and ancient fables mingle

together in her sci-fi. Although the three fictions are completely different in style,

their common nostalgic yearning for harmony happens to coincide with ecofeminist

kernel thought.

1. A brief Introduction of the Three Main Science Fictions

Published in 1980, The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five is the

second in a series of novels with the overall title ‘ Canopus in Argos: Archives’ ; the

first is Shikasta (1979); the third The Sirian Experiments (1981); the fourth The

Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (1982); and the fifth The Sentimental

Agents in the Volyen Empire (1983). In 1986, The Making of the Representative for

Planet 8 was adapted for opera by Philip Gra. In 1997, he again adapted The Marriage

between Zone Three, Four and Five for opera.

As for the book, Cayle Greene said “it demonstrates the social construction

under gender theory, the tradition of each zone decides the way of love, friendship and

parenting” (181). Glover thought that it showed transformation from “utopia” to

“dystopia” (111). Betsy Draine read it as an “allegory of a spiritual growth” and she

explored it’s similarities with the Holy Grail myth and King Arthur story (162).

According to her, the King and Queen, palace and garden, magic shield, noble horses,

armored Knight and women dressed in flowing robes all clearly presented the mode

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of medieval legend. Domestic research on the book continued to be deepened. Li

Fuxiang pointed out that “it is a political novel with a utopian tendency” (42).

The story is set in the uncharted territories of zones, where blurry and strange

air encircles each zone and blocks their way to communicate with the outside world.

It begins when the Provider, the omnipresent all- mighty ruler of all Zones, commends

that Allth, gentle queen of the serene matriarchal Zone Three, marry Ben Ata,

tyrannical king of the war-ridden Zone Four. Allth loathes the thinking of bonding

with an ill-bred man. Ben Ata is also averse to the idea of a woman interrupting his

freewheeling empire of men. Unbridled hatred burst out among the two. Nevertheless,

they marry under the irresistible order. For a long while, they battle with each other.

Allth feels ill at Ben Ata’s vulgarity and Allth’s archaic habit disgusts Ben Ata. They

are not accustomed to having a company they cannot control. But with the elapse of

the time, they get used to the existence of each other and obtain more insights

each other\'s inner world. Allth began to repent his rampant past, which leaves a

chaotic crime-ridden country. Allth comes to accept the bold way of life in the Zone


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