Real men

I wrote this early so I wouldn't forget, and although it's not entirely about the picture, there is something else I wanted to address first.

Lessing/ Anna continually speak of "real men" and it makes me wonder what exactly a real man is? On 463, Anna says "...women have this deep instinctive need to build a man up as a man...this is because real men become fewer and fewer, and we are frightened, trying to create men." What man is Anna trying to create? The majority of men Anna seems to think are "real men" are unfaithful and polygamous or they're insensitive, unapologetic, and generally just bad people. The ones who are kind-hearted and seem to care are bad at sex or homosexual, and Anna seems to immediately dismiss them, often comparing them to girls or depriving them of their masculinity. She even generalizes this to an entire country saying England is "full of men who are little boys and homosexuals and half-homosexuals." So what does Anna want in a man?

I would argue that ultimately Anna doesn't want a man. She is a "free woman" and despite her constant myriad of relationships, and despite her need to "play the girlfriend" she is content deep down with no permanent desire for attachment. Despite her cracking up and own bouts of panic, she needs the freedom to experience her full self. Thus she constantly critiques masculinity, with no man ever being the ideal "real man". In this way Lessing illustrates the empowered woman, though I wonder if she will continue to remain so independent until the end of the novel.

I chose this image because of the dual nature of chaos and uniformity in the novel. Anna's division of her self, represented by her notebooks, ultimately shows all aspects of her identity. Like the individual squares in the image, the individual anecdotes, stories, and thoughts give us a sense of her overall character. While each square/ section may seem random, separate, and unrelated to one another, when viewed as a whole, they portray something greater.