ABSTRACT:Doris Lessing is one of the most prominent writers in England in contemporary era. In 1950, her masterpiece, The Grass Is Singing, makes her become famous round the world at right. The Grass Is Singing is regarded as a novel which takes the colonialism as the theme, but this novel’s connotations are more than these. Lessing portrays the heroine Mary’s life experiences, encounters of spirit and the change of inner world. This paper analyzes the protagonist’s complicated mental world by the unconsciousness theory which is a part of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, and finds that the unconsciousness is the inner psychological factor that leads to Mary’s self lost and final breakdown. Finally, it reveals that the main reason of Mary’s mental breakdown is the domination of the unconsciousness to her views and actions. 

Key words: The Grass Is Singing; unconsciousness; Mary; mental breakdown

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

1 INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 Doris Lessing and The Grass Is Singing-1

1.2 Sigmund Freud and the Unconsciousness Theory-2

1.3 Purposes and Significances of This Study-4

2 LITERATURE REVIEW-5

2.1 Overseas Researches-5

2.2 Domestic Researches-6

2.3 Summary-8

3 ANALYSIS OF MARY’S MENTAL BREAKDOWN-9

3.1 Influences of the Unconsciousness on Mary’s Experiences-9

3.1.1 The unfortunate childhood-9

3.1.2 The confused youth-10

3.1.3 The tragic marriage-12

3.2 Influences of the Unconsciousness on the Relationship between Mary and Moses-13

3.2.1 Unconscious attention-13

3.2.2 Unconscious experience-15

3.3 The Final Mental Breakdown-16

4 CONCLUSIONS-19

REFERENCES-20

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-21