Children of Violence (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Doris Lessing
- First Published: 1952
- Type of Work: Novels
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: 1934-1997
- Setting: Zambesia, Africa; London; and a Scottish island
- Principal Characters: Martha Quest, Alfred, Solly, Judge Maynard, Douglas Knowell, Anton Hesse, Thomas Stern, Mark Coldridge, Lynda Coldridge
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Bildungsroman, Apocalyptic and catastrophe fiction, Utopian fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, Maturation or coming of age, 1960’s, 1970’s, Family or family life, Self-discovery, Africa or Africans, Communism or communists, Politics, Colonialism, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Gender roles, Marriage, 1940’s, World War II, 1930’s, 1980’s, Mental illness, Women’s issues, London, Ethics, 1990’s, Consciousness, Jews and Gentiles, Utopias
- Locales: London, England, Scotland, Zambesia, Africa
Form and Content
Martha Quest is the first novel in Doris Lessing’s Children of Violence series, and it portrays Martha’s adolescence on the African veld. Two of Martha’s experiences stand out as touchstones to which the whole series, and indeed much of Lessing’s subsequent work, continually returns. The first is an experience of a mystical unity with nature which Martha experiences on the veld. Her personal consciousness painfully unites with all life around her, and she feels that her own ideas of who she is are “futile” and that “it was as if something...
[The entire page is 2399 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
