ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the phenomenon of Doris Lessing as woman writer. Two elements come into play: first, the nature of exile and its significance for Lessing as a writer; and, second, general issues in thinking about women’s writing. Debates within feminism over issues of cultural production and consumption have problematised the concept of women’s writing. There is no simple means of defining women’s writing apart from men’s writing, or from writing in general. The modern Women’s Movement, unlike previous feminist struggles, organised around a primary assertion that all women have more in common with each other than they do with men. Movements prior to the 1970s asserted the rights of women against the wrongs done to them. The key factors are social: the meaning and consequence of a situation defined biologically – sex – are realised in social terms – gender.
