On Banality of Intelligence: Reading Doris Lessing’s “To Room Nineteen” From the Standpoint of Emotional Intelligence

Doris Lessing’s “To Room Nineteen” is a veiled critique of intelligence as an ideological stance undergirding patriarchy. The story revolves around the life of a married couple named Susan and Matthew Rawlings who have grounded their marriage in intelligence. As the time goes by, Susan is plagued by boredom and restlessness to the extent that she puts an end to her life. Her unquestioning compliance with the requirements of an intelligent life leads to an emotional crisis which results in her self-willed death. I would like to contend that Matthew and Susan’s conformity with intelligence equals a negation of emotion and affect. Therefore, the theme of the story is not the “failure in intelligence”, as Lessing adumbrates at the beginning of the story, but the failure of emotional intelligence. After elucidating emotional intelligence, I will proceed to read the story through this concept and explore its social and personal implications.