I hated the 1960's feminists," she says. "They were dogmatists, you see. In comes ideology, and out goes common sense. This is my experience of life. Doris Lessing More Quotes by Doris Lessing More Quotes From Doris Lessing Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: "You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do." Doris Lessing sorry children school You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous and self-indulgent, like the relationships between women when there are no men around. They make each other presents, and they have little feasts, and nobody punishes anyone else. This is the female way of going along when there are no men about or when men are not in the ascendant. Doris Lessing female self men My major aim was to shape a book which would make its own comment, a wordless statement: to talk through the way it was shaped. Doris Lessing shapes book way For with my intuition I knew that this man was repeating a pattern over and over again: courting a woman with his intelligence and sympathy, claiming her emotionally; then, when she began to claim in return, running away. And the better a woman was, the sooner he would begin to run. I knew this with my intuition, and yet I sat there in my dark room, looking at the hazed wet brilliance of the purple London night sky, longing with my whole being. Doris Lessing dark running night Women often get dropped from memory, and then history. Doris Lessing women memories I am so happy to be communicating with people on this newest of new wavelengths which to some older people must seem like a kind of magic. Doris Lessing wavelength magic people I treasure solitude. One doesn't have to have human contact. Doris Lessing contact treasure solitude And then, not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous. No one notices you. You achieve a wonderful freedom. It is a positive thing. You can move about unnoticed and invisible. Doris Lessing aging wonderful moving Women have an extraordinary ability to withdraw from the sexual relationship, to immunize themselves against it, in such a way that their men can be left feeling let down and insulted without having anything tangible to complain of. Doris Lessing complaining feelings men The most exciting periods of literature have always been those when the critics were great. Doris Lessing periods literature exciting Cats mean kittens, plentiful and frequent. Doris Lessing kitten cat mean Sometimes I think what I write is funny in its quiet way. Doris Lessing writing funny thinking The white man has settled like a locust over Africa, and, like the locusts in early morning, cannot take flight for the heaviness of the dew on their wings. But the dew that weights the white man is the money that he makes from our labor. Doris Lessing white-man morning men The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. Doris Lessing mouths wise men After a certain age - and for some of us that can be very young - there are no new people, beasts, dreams, faces, events: it has all happened before. Doris Lessing age dream people Mother's room, and mother's need for privacy become a valuable lesson in respect for other people's rights. Doris Lessing rights mother people I've always disliked words like inspiration. Writing is probably like a scientist thinking about some scientific problem, or an engineer about an engineering problem. Doris Lessing inspiration writing thinking we have not yet developed a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. Doris Lessing indoctrination educational education The novel has become a function of the fragmented society, the fragmented consciousness. Human beings are so divided, are becoming more and more divided, and more subdivided in themselves, reflecting the world, that they reach out desperately, not knowing they do it, for information about other groups inside their own country, let alone about groups in other countries. It is a blind grasping out for their own wholeness, and the novel-report is a means toward it. Doris Lessing knowing mean country The Golden Notebook for some reason surprised people but it was no more than you would hear women say in their kitchens every day in any country... I was really astounded that some people were shocked. Doris Lessing notebook country people
