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The Symbolic Role Of The Heat In The Doris Lessing's Story A Woman On A Roof Doris Lessing's childhood and youth had contemporized with the rapid changes in the world, which included the rise and bloom of the feminism movement at the beginning and in the middle of the twentieth century and desperate campaigns for the womens rights. These reckless times were bound to be reflexes in wonderful works of this famous woman, writer and feminist. The purpose of this work is to analyze, how the symbol of the heat in Doris Lessing's story A woman on a roof influences the plot of the story, the behavior, actions and thoughts of the characters, what undertone it carries and what in-depth meaning it adds to the whole story. How this symbol reflexes the authors philosophic perception of life and her view of the contemporary society, how changes in the world that surrounded the author influenced her works. This symbol of the heat in the story A woman on a roof can be viewed in complex from two angles, which are mutually complementing and add to the depth of the story insight. First, the symbol of the heat can be analyzed as the catalyst of the plot, which subconsciously but nonetheless gradually prompts the characters for actions.
Second, this symbol can be viewed more globally, as the portrayed by the author model of society with all its problems that come and go in waves, suddenly arise and just as suddenly disappear, leaving space for new waves, or new weather, like the heat in the story. This symbol calls to majority of significant influences on human moral values and all aspects of life, which were caused by the changes in the contemporary community. Various nouns and adjectives convey the symbol of heat in this story, ample used the repetition of words hot, heat and sun, which form its carcass. They frame the story into the complete picture of the aspect of life. Accentuate the inevitable and final triumph of womens personal freedom. On the first day the heat and the sun serve as the winding spring for the plot, for the characters behavior.
The phrase, which describes that the men were not used to the heat works as the cause for the physical and emotional uneasiness, which lead to desire for getting of. But the woman on a roof does not really irritate them. She merely strikes them as something wired, unusual, though, still leads to rude whistles and remarks. This heat identifies the very beginning of the womens rights movement, when at first it wasnt the cause for actually worry for the patriarchal society, but merely surprised and maybe even shocked as something unnatural, embarrassing or even indecent and forbidden. The description of heat in the episode the following day is more emphatic, which is accomplished by the author with the use of comparative adjective hotter and the phrases the heat wave, full sunlight lay over the roofs. These phrases work as the significant amplification of the heat symbol, show the gradual rise of tension and emphasize the irreversible approach to the climax of the story.
The heat was not disappearing. Contrary to all weather forecasts it was increasing. The phrases they were grumbling about the weather now, perhaps it will be cooler tomorrow, roll on some rain show, that men are already not silently suffering the heat. The heat makes men much more irritable, annoyed with this heat and with the woman, which leads to more rude attitude towards the woman. Simultaneously in wider meaning it indicates the inevitable resentment to bear the unexpected growth of the womens rights movements all around them, which were impossible to be further ignored. The situation in the story is closely bound with the vital changes in the society at that time.
Despite the mens attitude to the current situation with feminists they could not ignore it anymore. And while not yet seriously struggling against such extra freedom, they continue more openly dispute and declaim it. The episode where Tom tries to make an acquaintance with the woman is essential part of the story. It is the crucial anti-climax.
Toms questions: You like the sun, do you? , the suns all right for you, isnt it? , though, not answered by the woman, they are the real answer for the reader of the story. The sun is all right for the woman, and as the important element of the heat symbol, which defines the movement for the womens rights, the freedom, this appears to be good, or, moreover, important for all the women of the word. The episode with the woman who had lent the blanket brings the perspective to the story and conveys the description of outlooks and moral values that generally dominated in the society in the middle of the twentieth century. To Stanley's question she answered that she didnt go to the roof, because its dirty place up there, and its too hot.
Here the adjective dirty brings negative expressive connotation to the adjective hot in description of the same place. This woman agreed with Stanley in both implications: directly that sunbathing on a roof is hot, which means uncomfortable, and dirty, and carries both direct meaning and figurative meaning indecent. But prior to this short discussion Stanley and this woman were flirting up to the point where Stanley had to be reminded of his marital status. From broader aspect it shows, that this woman belongs to that group of women, who are reluctant or even afraid to act openly to claim their freedom.
But nonetheless seem natural to consider romance with other men; while like in the case with this woman, their husbands were away. The analysis of the dialogue between Stanley and the woman also shows their agreement and reveals that they refer to the group of people who considered freedom to be provocative, but the actual provocation and flirting was absolutely natural for them. Conduction of the step-by-step analysis of the text makes obvious the fact, that the symbol of the heat plays not only the role of the engine of the story, gives to the characters the subconscious push for action. The whole its purpose lies deeper. The heat symbolizes the whole epoch, the current state of peoples minds and outlooks, the mirror of the contemporary society.
Or even the model of social development of new conception courses, ideas, notions and apprehensions within different age groups of the society. The story ends with the masterfully applied oppositions to the heat symbol of the story: the word rain, damp drizzling the sky was gray, wet gray opposite the words hot sun the sun was white, flushing red, that we see at the beginning of the story. The phrase the leads were cool now opposites to the phrase the leads got so hot. This linguistic device frames the whole story. It most vividly accentuates the anti-climax of the whole story, the contrast between the tension at the beginning of the story, and long awaited relief at the end. But this opposition has second very important concept bearing for the plot of the story.
In relation to the outer world, which surrounds the author and which is portrayed in the story by the symbol of the heat this opposition identifies the acceptance of changes, occurring in the world. The change of weather symbolizes the change of time, which was brought into to life like fresh air after heat and cool rain after exhausting sun. This irrevocable change was noticed, acknowledged, discussed, confronted more or less successfully, and, finally, accepted. And even if some people do not agree with such situation, it cannot be resisted or changed, just as rain cant be stopped.
Using these linguistic means in picturing the deep undertone of the subplot he author adds new meaning to the story. She masterfully shows not only the current events in the society and gradual progress of the mankind. She also hints, that old problems are sold, but new task and problems will arise to be dealt with. And no matter if they would be good or bad, no one can avoid them, and this circle as permanent as weather changes. Bibliography: Lessing Doris. , A Man And Two Women. British first ed. : Mc Gibbon & Kee, 1963.
Pike, Kenneth L. , and Donald A. Burguest. The importance of purposive behavior in text analysis. New York: Harmony, 1996.
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