Through the Tunnel

British Zimbabwean novelist Doris Lessing (1919-2013) published a wide variety of works, including the novel The Grass Is Singing (1950) and the series Children of Violence (1952-1969). She received many awards, including the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize in Literature, and was ranked as one of the top 50 greatest British writers according to The Times. In 1995, she received an honorary degree from Harvard University.

Her work is widely considered difficult to categorize and is known for experimenting with various ideologies, including communism and Sufism. Though she was hailed as a feminist writer, she often pushed back against that label. Despite this, her feminist thinking echoes in the short story “Through the tunnel,” specifically in the mother’s thoughts about raising Jerry. She does not want to be a stereotypically overbearing mother and allows Jerry to explore and grow independent. Moreover, the story was published in 1955, when Lessing was in the middle of writing her semi-autobiographical series Children of Violence, which was informed by her (temporary) interest in communism and her critical view of traditional female domesticity. The series protagonist, Martha Quest, grows disillusioned with marriage and ultimately rejects it;