From Socially Constructed Subjectivity To Matrixial Subjectivity in Doris Lessing's “debbie and Julie”

Abstract

The formation of subjectivity based on the woman-body and man-mind association has resulted in female inferiority and male dominance. As Kate Cregan states “… the body has been categorized as emotional and feminized in opposition to the masculinized rational mind,” (82) and therefore, regarded as unruly. Moreover, the female body, particularly during pregnancy and childbirth, has been an arena of power dynamics as it is characterized by instability and indeterminacy. This essentialist approach reveals how the biological determinism of the female body is socially constructed, relegated to a subordinate presence and naturalized in a male-dominated society. Doris Lessing's short story “Debbie and Julie” from her London Observed: Stories and Sketches (1993) undermines such fallacious views concerning the female body by foregrounding a young pregnant girl's exploration of her subjectivity from the prenatal to postnatal period through her relational interaction with docile and marginal bodies as well as the baby both inside and outside her body. Hence, this article displays how female bond, pregnancy and childbirth generate alternative views for a pregnant teenager in attaining her subjectivity within the framework of Bracha L. Ettinger's “Matrixial Theory.” © 2024 by the author.