FEMALE QUEST FOR IDENTITY IN D.H. LAWRENCE'S SONS AND LOVERS AND DORIS LESSING'S THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK

Abstract

The female quest for self-identity has become one of the most important topics that attract the attention of many literary writers after the development of the Feminist Movement. Women strongly fight to become an integral part of society with separate self-identity. This battle, however, is full of obstacles and sacrifices. So, this article is an attempt to highlight some of those obstacles and the role of women in overcoming them to reach their wholeness and identity in modern English fiction. To fulfill this purpose, two female characters from two different novels are selected as a sample. They are Mrs. Morel, the protagonist of Sons and Lovers (1913) by D.H. Lawrence, and Anna Wulf, the protagonist of The Golden Notebook (1962) by Doris Lessing. A close reading of some actions by the female characters is conducted to analyze their behavior from a feminist perspective. At the end of the analysis, it is shown that both female characters show a good example of strong women who could utilize their disappointments and change them as a means to success. Mrs. Morel proves her strength in taking her husband's place at home when she notices his failure as a father to embrace her children and plan their future and Anna Wulf proves her strength in changing her five failed love relationships into a motive for living a better life in ways she feels them proper not which men or society dictate.