The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the experimental writing and awareness of female body in Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook. The realistic writing is considered to be based on the belief that it is always possible to ...

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the experimental writing and awareness of female body in Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook. The realistic writing is considered to be based on the belief that it is always possible to represent reality in writing. Lessing started her writing career as a realist. But she realized that the realistic novel does not accommodate her multi-layered version of reality. Moreover, she realized she had tried to conform to the androcentric understanding of life. By writing this book, Lessing totally recognizes her female body and her experiences, and The Golden Notebook concretizes this awareness.
The Golden Notebook, Lessing's most well-known novel, is a starting point to be away from realism. Anna, the protagonist of this book, experiences the disintegration and chaos of modern society. Having experienced merging into other people and madness, Anna accepts the multiplicity and heterogeneity in her self-identity. For her, mental breakdown is not a sign that she is mad, but she goes beyond the existing logocentric society. This awareness comes from experiences as a woman and she realizes she perceives things in a continuum, rather than in fixed boundaries or hierarchical system. The boundaries between self and other become mobilized and flexible by realizing and accepting the power of her female experiences on her identity and view of life. This might be the critique of the systems of representation that govern the western thought.