To Room Nineteen is one
of Doris Lessing's masterpieces in which she portrays the effects of a
patriarchal social and cultural setup on the mental state of Susan Rawlings
that ultimately lead to her suicide in the same hotel room that has booked for
herself to flee the society so that she could comfort in seclusion. Susan is
one of the most intriguing characters in literature who dissociates herself
from the societal norms that have become too much for her to bear, and that
leads to her schizophrenic state and her death.
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Dorris Lessing is a
prolific writer who has produced numerous works of great merit on a wide array
of topics having different styles. Lessing's works are spiritual and mystic
centered on concepts ranging from philosophical questions about life to
generational conflicts to the exploration of the human mind to politics and so
on. Lessing has frequently written about the inner feelings of women, how women
get disillusioned, depart from the patriarchal world, and become alienated.
In To Room Nineteen, her heroin
Susan assumes the role the society expects from her and stays within the
boundaries of the patriarchal society throughout her life. However, after a
painful experience, she embarks on a journey to explore her identity that makes
her resent the social and cultural norms as she can no longer endure the
sufferings that come with societal expectations. She believes that she has lost
her true identity due to the various identities imposed upon her by society
such as a caring mother, understanding wife, and perfect partner.
The
perfect marriage as considered by the society
Society regards Susan
and Mathew as a perfect couple. They love each other, care for each other, and
enjoy a healthy relationship. In the beginning, Susan is content with her married
life. Susan, being a working woman before her marriage assumes the role of a
traditional housewife, becomes pregnant four times, and kisses goodbye to her
job once she gets married. She does not realize that by retracting from public
life to private life, she is making the biggest mistake of her life that will
haunt her in the times to come. She sets comfortably into the role of
conventional womanhood. For the sake of a happy domestic life, she sacrifices
her working instincts. In the patriarchal society that she lives in, she is
expected to be a good, caring, and obedient wife. And she becomes exactly what
is expected of her. She follows the 'Cult of Domesticity", while her
husband works outside. She is content for 10 years with such a lifestyle until
she finally realizes that she has lost herself.
While trying to live up
to the role that she has assumed under societal pressure, she forgets about her
happiness. She is no longer the independent working woman that she once was.
She has become someone else, a figure that she rejected while working outside
the home. She has become a domestic prisoner who is no longer free. She has
been caged by the daily routines of taking care of the children, her husband,
and the house. It is this feeling of depression and quest for reinvigorating
her true identity that leads to her death.
Alienation
of Susan Rawlings and the disintegration of domestic life
"All Susan knows is that she is trapped in
her own house and feels like a long-term prisoner, living out a prison sentence"
Susan in her attempts
to gratify everyone has lost her happiness. She is concerned about the loss of
her identity after spending ten years of her life in the cage prepared for her
by society. She wants to be alone to find herself. However, she has so many
responsibilities that she cannot find the time to be herself. She lives each
day of her life in the service of her family. She longs for a day when she will
be free from such responsibilities and will have time to rethink her identity.
The title angel of the house is becoming unbearable for her. She is no longer
excited by her duties or her familial life.
She feels imprisoned,
confined, controlled, caged, domesticated, tamed, mastered, and depressed. The
question of who she is haunts her throughout her remaining life. What is her
identity? An obedient wife and good mother or an independent strong woman? She
needs time to ponder over such questions, that she barely gets. She begins to
loathe herself and becomes anxious about her personality. She disdains the
woman she has become. She hates society for turning her into a woman she never
was.
This alienation leads
to feelings of anxiety and frustration. If she is unable to enjoy her life, it
is not possible to serve her family well. Her husband’s disloyalty also
contributes to her crazy state of mind. As a result of living in a patriarchal
society and patriarchal household where she is expected to live up to the
societal norms, she descends into a mental state of chaos. As a result, her
domestic life disintegrates as she no longer finds happiness in the warm laps
of her husband or the hugs of her children.
The only place where
she feels she can be herself again is a place away from home. She wants to
rediscover herself by spending some time in seclusion. Therefore, she books a
hotel room where she commits suicide because of her overwhelming feelings of
loss and depression.
Patriarchy
and the disintegration of a society
Throughout history,
madness or schizophrenia has been regarded as a female phenomenon. However, due
to the lack of research, no one paid heed to the causes of the higher rate of
madness in women. Mental imbalance in women results because of social causes.
Living in a patriarchal society gives socially constructed roles and
responsibilities to women. They are caged and confined in the socially
constructed roles of daughters, wives, and mothers. They cannot escape from it
no matter how much they try because of the overwhelming societal resistance. In
such a situation, women cannot stay healthy mentally and emotionally.
Consequently, depression and anxiety knock at the door. To Room Nineteen is a reflection of
the fact that women's desires and aspirations have to be accounted for to
prevent them from becoming mentally sick.
Susan Rawlings experiences
a chaotic state of mind since she is no longer a powerful independent woman who
is capable of making informed choices and decisions. She becomes isolated and
detached from the world. She prefers death over her life as she can no longer
compromise herself, her identity, and her desires for the sake of her family or
society.
Women are often treated
as ‘the other’ in a patriarchal social setup, which leads to the disintegration
of the entire society. Suicide rates spike, because women can only find refuge in
death from their sufferings. If a woman enjoys a healthy state of mind, the
entire family is impacted positively and vice-versa.
Through the character of Susan Rawlings, Lessing shows the conditions of conventional housewives in a patriarchal society. The quest of such women to be isolated to be happy is also shown in the story. Because of the imbalanced power relations in domestic and public life, Susan is changed from a strong, assertive woman to someone who no longer recognizes herself. To Room Nineteen is a story of the disintegration of domestic and social life because of the patriarchal pressure on Susan to remain loyal to her socially constructed role.
The article is written by Asif Abbas, one of the contributors to the SOL Community.
