Liminal Crises: Gendered Space, Culture, and Colonial Dystopia in Lessing’s The Grass is Singing (1950)

Abstract

Cultural intertextuality is often viewed from the perspective of the oppressed, rather than the other way round. This is evident in the analysis of Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing (1950). Interpretations of the text have rarely considered space. Therefore, this article investigates the intersections of gendered, racialised, and colonial spaces in Southern Rhodesia.
Drawing from Lessing’s own experiences as a white settler in colonial Africa, we critique the oppressive structures of colonialism while examining the gendered dynamics of space as they affect the subaltern, particularly women. Lessing’s portrayal of Rhodesia as a melting pot of tensions reveals the contradictions of cultural intertextuality. Through textual analysis, the article highlights the challenges faced by Western feminist readings. It suggests that women’s crises stem from spatial and cultural displacement rather than mere patriarchal oppression. We argue that the interpretation of The Grass is Singing aligns more closely with African cultural perspectives, emphasising intercultural influences of survival and communal resilience in gender struggles. Analysing the novel through a geocritical lens shows how space is created, contested, and re-territorialised under colonialism. The Rhodesian landscape, marked by racial and gendered divisions, becomes a microcosm of broader imperial anxieties.