Lessing and the New Woman

Doris Lessing’s play Each his Own Wilderness presents us with the image of the ‘New Woman’. Myra and Milly are single independent women(Myra a widow and Milly a divorcee) who fight hard to find their place in the world. They have a voice and a career. Having no husbands to cater to, these women can lead a comparatively freer life and are vocal about their needs and wants. However motherhood is a bondage that they cannot free themselves of easily. Hence though husbands are absent, patriarchy is not. Through motherhood, patriarchy continues the structure in which female is kept in the service of male and hence motherhood becomes oppressive.