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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page essay that discusses Doris Lessing's short story "To Room Nineteen." The writer argues that the physical and social settings described in the narrative play a pivotal role in understanding the story's overall meaning. This is because the social and physical settings establish the context for the severe depression of Lessing's protagonist, Susan Rawlings. It is through Susan's perception of the physical and social settings that make up her life--her home, her family and the room she rents in order to have anonymity and solitude--that the reader comes to understand the reasons behind why a young woman--who seemingly "has everything"--would take her own life. No bibliography is provided.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khr19.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
is because the social and physical settings establish the context for the severe depression of Lessings protagonist, Susan Rawlings. It is through Susans perception of the physical and social settings
that make up her life--her home, her family and the room she rents in order to have anonymity and solitude--that the reader comes to understand the reasons behind why
a young woman--who seemingly "has everything"--would take her own life. From the beginning of the story, Susan Rawlings is pictured as a woman on the brink of a total
mental breakdown. She feels trapped by her responsibilities as wife, mother and mistress of her home and that her identity has been subsumed into these roles. Her need for isolation
is first expressed through her claiming a small room at the "top" of the house for her own. However, while her family is scrupulous about giving her the quiet that
they perceive she needs, the room does not fulfill her psychic requirements because she still feels the ties of duties and responsibilities. She tries to find isolation by taking a
solitary holiday, a walking tour of the Welsh countryside. But, while she was away, her family expected to keep in touch by telephone. "Susan prowled over wild country with the
telephone wire holding her to her duty like a leash. The next time she must telephone, or wait to be telephoned, nailed her to her cross" (Lessing 1013). The only
surcease that Susan can find from her mental agony is to rent a room in a dingy hotel of questionable repute. As this suggests, Lessing makes it clear that it
is not only solitude that Susan desires, but also anonymity. In order to feel truly free and feel in touch with her true identity, Susan felt that her family must
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