Psychological Perspective of Themes in Doris Lessing's 'Under My Skin'

This essay offers a psychological perspective on Doris Lessing's autobiography, 'Under My Skin,' focusing on key themes and providing a detailed analysis of the text. The essay begins by exploring the biographical and thematic elements of the book, particularly Lessing's childhood in Africa and the themes of time and memory. It then delves deeper into the psychological aspects, examining the concept of 'skin' as a metaphor for the self and the interplay between the individual and society. The essay also analyzes Lessing's desires, including her longing for the lost childhood and her reflections on societal influences and the complexities of personal relationships, particularly with her parents. The analysis incorporates behavioral theory and explores the implications of her experiences on her identity and her creative process. Overall, the essay provides a critical reflection on Lessing's psychological journey and her unique perspective on life.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychological perspective of Doris Lessing’s Under My Skin
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Table of contents
Biographical and thematic elements in Under My Skin...................................................................2
Deeper insight into Under My Skin.................................................................................................2
Critical reflection of Doris’ desires.................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Biographical and thematic elements in Under My Skin
Under My Skin is one of the masterpieces of Doris Lessing’s first volume of
autobiography. As a matter of specification, the volume enhances the clarity of the readers about
how she spent her childhood in the dense forest of Africa. Time and memory is one of an
important theme of this volume. Recollection of the past from the perspective of a child Doris
acts as a flashback of her development (Watkins, 2016). This includes self-retrospection,
adjusting relationship with parents and societal approach. Adjust with her parents is very much
similar to the relationship portrayed in Gosses’ Father and Son.
Doris’ development amidst an adjusting environment, strains her biological relationship
with her parents. Her uncompromising attitude reflects her determination towards the attainment
of independence. This determination gets societal rejection, however, her soft kind and
compassionate nature nullifies this rejection. Along with this, conglomeration between the
personal and professional life is reflected in the creation, Under My Skin. Maintenance of
balance adds value to the personality of writers like Doris (Rubenstein, 2014).
Deeper insight into Under My Skin
Skin is the inner covering of an individual. Skin protects the individual from the outside
and foreign materials, which can prove harmful. The proposition “under” can be considered as
“part for the whole” and the possessiveness reflected by “my” is the individual as a whole.
Collaboration of these parts results in the formation of the individual as a whole. These parts can
be considered as two selves, which make up an individual. Naming the autobiography as Under
My Skin is Doris’ attempt to invoke her other self in terms of memorizing her childhood in the

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dense forest of Africa (Martens, 2014). Countering this, skin can be considered as a generalized
version of one’s body. In view of this perception, the proposition “my” is contradicted, which
nullifies the individuality of Doris Lessing.
Doris had to adjust with her parents for having a worthwhile existence. However, her
caring and compassionate attitude strengthened her relationship with society. The proposition
“under” can also reflect a suppression of one of the selves due to the efforts, which Doris had to
put for keeping the relationship with her parents alive. On the other hand, poetic approach
towards the scenic beauty reflects the freedom and liberty of her selves in terms of adding value
to her existence (Georgescu, 2014).
Time is one of the other issues, which grabs the attention of the readers upon the mention
of Under My Skin. Reflecting on the lost childhood is Doris’ lamentation towards the lost
childhood. Viewing it from the other perspective, this reflection can also be considered as a
longing for regaining the lost childhood. This yearning desire is a desire to take a rebirth in terms
of shedding the worldly responsibilities. The action of shedding off the responsibilities reflects
an immature behavior, which negates the development of Doris. Countering this, shedding off
the responsibilities can be considered as Doris’ desire to escape into a utopian world, where she
would be able to live amidst the “singing grass” (Fike, 2016). This desire snatches her present
societal existence.
Taking a cue from the utopian society, it acts as a distortion for the characteristics of the
present connotation of “society”. This is because the society consists of a group of foolish people
seeking the meaning of their lives. In this process, they encounter higher stress and feel lethargic
towards the performance of basic tasks. Viewing it from the other perspective, childish reflection

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by Doris might be considered as going down the memory lane for revisiting the dense forest and
grasses, which provided her the much-needed companion in the childhood. Here, society attains
the connotation of lamentation in terms of getting relief from the worldly responsibilities. Her
adjusting relationship with her parents is an obstacle for Doris in terms of reaching to the tender
age of childhood (Rubenstein, 2014). This is because, in these thoughts, the biological
relationship with the parents is negated. This negation is a rejection towards the universal rule of
creation. This rejection on the other hand creates a childhood in the minds of adult Doris, which
ventures into the lanes and the dense forest of Africa. This attaches a different kind of
connotation to the aspect of creation. Countering this, this creation merges the issue of time and
memory for reliving the childhood.
The propositions of the above paragraph bring behavioral theory into the discussion.
Doris’ creation of a child venturing into the lanes and the forests reflects the immature stage.
This indicates the infancy, where innocence is the main form of expressing the basic desires
(Rubenstein, 2014). Countering this, tendency towards getting back the lost childhood is obvious
in response to the inability to cope up with the worldly tensions and issues. This inability places
Doris within the group of foolish people, who are making desperate attempts to add meaning to
their existence. Herein lays the appropriateness of the relation between the self and the society.
Within this, rationality is a major component, as rational thinking and consciousness helps in
enhancement of the personality.
Viewing it from the other perspective, societal influences are also one of the determinants
of personality. Doris’ relationship with her parents includes many adjustments. This adjustment
acts as a compulsion for Doris in terms of stabilizing her personal life (Gabaitse & Kumalo,
2014). On the contrary, her societal approach is caring and compassionate, which acts as an

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opportunity for her regarding asking for help in terms of restoring the peace and stability in the
personal life. Her creation of self as a child might be considered as an escape from the taunts and
mocking, which is imposed upon her by her parents, relatives, peers and neighbors. These
impositions destroy her self- respect, resulting in the creation of such appealing autobiography,
Under My Skin. The word “skin” consists of racial connotations, which were evident in the era of
1919-1949. In view of these connotations, it can be said that Doris invokes the child within her
to visit the memory lanes and the dense forests in a new form. This newness exempts Doris from
letting the influences touch her skin. Rationality in this direction reflects Doris’ maturity in terms
of enhancing her identity (Shamshiri, 2014). Countering this, this creation merges the matured as
well as immature behavior, which can be considered as a distortion of the self. This distortion
affirms the concept of part for the whole. The part is the child and the whole is the adult Doris.
Recollection of the lost childhood becomes more problematic, if Doris’ adjustments are
considered. Herein lays the importance of concentration and effective utilization of the available
time. Time is basically the present, however, in terms of the recollection it reflects the attempts
of the individuals to intervene into their past. This attempt can be considered as an yearning
towards an opportunity to modify some mistakes committed in the past. Along with this, it ican
also be the attempt to relive the beauty amidst which the individuals have attained their
development (Clark, 2017). The same is the case with Doris, who wants an escape into the dense
forest of Africa for reliving her childhood. Going into the past is a negation for the present
moments, which places Doris in the much-wanted childhood phase. Negation of the present can
be considered as going beyond the originality of the society. However, sometimes negation is
required in certain cases for reaching an affirmation, which is the ultimate goal, the only focus of
the individuals. Doris’ skin, in terms of creating a child clone, becomes more soft, caring and

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innocent. This connotation reflects the inner desire of Doris to feel her childhood, as she is
encountering an ambience, which is full of adjustments.
Critical reflection of Doris’ desires
Longing towards the possession of lost childhood is the story of individuals, going
through a phase of struggle, for adding meaning into their existence (Arnold & Meskimmon,
2015). In view of this connotation, Doris becomes one of the ordinary individual, wanting to
spend some time with herself. This perception sheds off the tag of a writer; however, it does not
mean that her poetic abilities get diminished. Delving deep into the issue, becoming one of the
common people, helps Doris to portray the development of an individual, within the ambience of
societal influence, in a proper manner. Countering this, becoming one of the common people
suppresses her poetic abilities under her outer “skin”.
Critiques would consider this suppression as against the poetic norms; however, these
desires are normal in terms of making the people realize her approach towards the offered roles
and responsibilities. Herein lays the appropriateness of the lines, “Life is a stage and we are the
actors”. Here, there is a compulsion to act out the offered roles and responsibilities in spite of the
unwillingness (Rubenstein, 2014). However, psychologists have gifted the people the avenues to
escape from these worldly responsibilities through intoxication and imagination. For poets like
Doris, both these ways are applicable, as they offer the chance of practical experience.
Intoxication takes them into other world, where there is only happiness. On the other hand,
intoxication can also take them to the world of depression, which is an appeal towards the
extending the helping hand for altering the scenario. Imagination has the power to place the
individual in any situation, which is beyond limitations (Kumar, 2013). Doris’ creation of a child

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makes her imagination into a reverse osmosis. This is because according to the stages of
development, the adults are compelled to think about their old age. Doris’ case is a deviation
towards this norm, as she yearns for the lost childhood.
In such a situation, it cannot be said that Doris is violating the societal norms. On the
contrary, she wants to adopt the concept of rebirth in order to relive her life in a different way.
This desire might be psychological, however, the behavioral tendencies associated with the
desires makes it natural and obvious in terms of enjoying a worthwhile existence.
The issue of adjustment brings the issue of old age into the discussion. Adjusting with
parents can be considered as the projection of negligent and careless attitude towards her aging
parents and their needs. This nullifies her intellectual development (Kumar, 2013). On the other
hand, adjustment can also refer to the differentiation of opinions, which are common between a
grown up child and the parents. In this, societal influences aggravate the complexities in terms of
maintaining the balance in life. In such a situation, thinking of lost childhood is natural in case of
Doris, as she wants a free mindset for portraying her poetic creations.

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Georgescu, E. A. (2014). Sites of Personal and Cultural Memories in Doris Lessing’s Writings of
Africa. Kultura (Skopje), 3(4), 163-172.
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