In Doris Lessing's short story, "To Room Nineteen", the main character, Susan Rawlings, has a drastic change in lifestyle from that of an independent, successful woman with her own apartment to that of a woman with conventional household of the 1950s. On the other hand, her husband has the freedom to work outside the home and frequently attends social events, while still living the life of a single man. Although Susan finds life boring with her new lifestyle, she tolerates these gender roles, until her husband takes advantage of her freedom and jeopardizes their marriage by having an affair. She rationalizes her actions and her denial of their relationship problems leads to her progressive mental instability. Critic James Gindin denies that Doris Lessing's short story "To RoomNineteen" indirectly criticizes female inequality in the 1950s, although there are many signs pointing to it. James Gindin's review of Lessing's work was written in 1963, and his conservative views reflect that gender roles were still dominant during this period. time. He believes that "ToRoom Nineteen" is not about the oppression of women in the 1950s, but rather about a woman confused about her sexual identity. Gindin sees Susan as a masculine woman who gives up her professional life and her own apartment for a married life, assuming "that she can control her domestic world in the healthy, masculine way in which she controlled her work." Gindin's perception of this story is that Susan is not held back by the male world, but she played male roles before her marriage and does not want to accept her female roles now. His criticism patronizes women and gives a lesbian perception of Susan, as he believes her desire to...... middle of paper...... social events together. However, it is also likely that 1950s society would have caused them to have marital problems in another sense, due to their pursuit of perfection rather than happiness. What lies behind Susan and Matthew's "intellectual failure" theories is that they were not in love with their partners. each other, because with that bond, they would have been able to compromise and communicate successfully for the sake of their marriage. Works Cited Lessing, Doris. “In room nineteen.” The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Twentieth Century and Beyond. Ed. Joseph Black and Leonard Conolly. New York: Broadview Press, 2006. Gindin, James. “Weary wives and lovers.” Saturday Review. 47(1963): 42-3. Rep. in Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Edelstein. Flight. 22. Detroit: Gale Literary Resources, 1980. 278-279.

Essay / In Doris Lessing's short story, "To Room Nineteen", the main character, Susan Rawlings, has a drastic change in lifestyle from that of an independent, successful woman with her own apartment to that of a woman with conventional household of the 1950s. On the other hand, her husband has the freedom to work outside the home and frequently attends social events, while still living the life of a single man. Although Susan finds life boring with her new lifestyle, she tolerates these gender roles, until her husband takes advantage of her freedom and jeopardizes their marriage by having an affair. She rationalizes her actions and her denial of their relationship problems leads to her progressive mental instability. Critic James Gindin denies that Doris Lessing's short story "To RoomNineteen" indirectly criticizes female inequality in the 1950s, although there are many signs pointing to it. James Gindin's review of Lessing's work was written in 1963, and his conservative views reflect that gender roles were still dominant during this period. time. He believes that "ToRoom Nineteen" is not about the oppression of women in the 1950s, but rather about a woman confused about her sexual identity. Gindin sees Susan as a masculine woman who gives up her professional life and her own apartment for a married life, assuming "that she can control her domestic world in the healthy, masculine way in which she controlled her work." Gindin's perception of this story is that Susan is not held back by the male world, but she played male roles before her marriage and does not want to accept her female roles now. His criticism patronizes women and gives a lesbian perception of Susan, as he believes her desire to...... middle of paper...... social events together. However, it is also likely that 1950s society would have caused them to have marital problems in another sense, due to their pursuit of perfection rather than happiness. What lies behind Susan and Matthew's "intellectual failure" theories is that they were not in love with their partners. each other, because with that bond, they would have been able to compromise and communicate successfully for the sake of their marriage. Works Cited Lessing, Doris. “In room nineteen.” The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Twentieth Century and Beyond. Ed. Joseph Black and Leonard Conolly. New York: Broadview Press, 2006. Gindin, James. “Weary wives and lovers.” Saturday Review. 47(1963): 42-3. Rep. in Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Edelstein. Flight. 22. Detroit: Gale Literary Resources, 1980. 278-279.

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