Abstract: Doris Lessing is one of the most important post-war writers in Britain. And she is known for her productive works and diversified writing styles during her nearly sixty years’ career. The Nobel Prize in 2007 makes Lessing a world-famous writer. Taking Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child as a study object, the paper explains the alienation from three aspects, including alienated relationship between man and society, the alienated interpersonal relationship and the protagonist’s self –alienation, and analyzes the causes of alienation from the perspective of Fromm’s alienation theory. 

Key words: Doris Lessing; The Fifth Child; alienation; causes of alienation

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 An Introduction to Doris Lessing and The Fifth Child-1

1.2 A Literature Review of The Fifth Child at Home and Abroad-3

1.3 A Review of Fromm’s Theory of Alienation-4

2. Features of Alienation in The Fifth Child-6

2.1 Alienated Relationship between Man and Society-6

2.2 The Alienated Interpersonal Relationship-8

2.2.1 Alienated Relationship between Husband and Wife-8

2.2.2 Alienated Relationship between Parents and Children-9

2.3 The Protagonist’s Self –alienation-11

3. Causes of Alienation in The Fifth Child-12

3.1 Influence of the Capitalist Society-13

3.2 Absence of Love in the Family-14

3.3 Loss of Self- identification-16

4. Conclusion-18

References-19