Woman of Roof
A Woman of Roof by Doris Lessing, is a story about a woman sunning herself over the course of a seven-day heat wave in London (Lessing, n.d). The woman suns herself at the roof of a building which is being refurbished by three male construction workers. The men are attracted to the woman when they first notice her while naked, in order to attract her attention, they whistle and holler to draw her attention but she resists to their progresses and ignores them. The three men are of different ages with Harry being the oldest with forty-five years, Stanley a good looking man at the age of around thirty, and Tom the youngest of them all, a seventeen year old. When Tom approaches the woman to make friends with her, his move is shortly repulsed as the weather turns. The main of the story of the story is on feminism, the male stare, romantic fantasy, sexual desire, as well as resisting intimidation which are the main themes of the story.
The three men notice the lady sunning herself while naked at least 50 yards from where they were. The men could not resist the temptation of seeing a lady while naked, they all try to approach her, with Tom seems to be the most affected and he smiles at the woman diffidently while dreaming of having a tender romantic relationship with her. Tom is in a world of fantasy and consequently approaches the woman telling her of how he is attracted to her on the seventh day (Lessing, n.d). Nonetheless, Tom’s efforts are repulsed by the lady who asks him to go away, and if he enjoys seeing women in bikinis he should go to the nearby swimming pool, Tom is then ignored by the woman living him with no choice but to leave.
- (1).
Elements of Fiction (Characters)
In Doris Lessing’s original story, each of the three characters are well described and their action and attitudes towards the woman are well thought out. Lessing basically focuses on depicting the type of reactions which different men have when rejected by a woman. For instance, Tom does not seem offended after being rejected by the woman, a move which prompts him to walk away freely from the woman when rejected, even though he had poured his heart out to the woman. On the other hand, Stanley is offended by the lady when she ignores him prompting him to call her a ‘Bitch’, while Harry the oldest of them all is not somehow is interested in the woman as he only cracks a joke by mentioning Stanley’s when Stanley is angered by the woman (Lessing, n.d). There is a clear and concise description if the actions of each character in the story, which makes one understand why and how men tend to react when they seek a woman’s attention.
Similarly, in the student’s retelling of the same story, the story is focused on characters as an element of fiction. In this case, the story has basically focused on a single character that is Tom, whose characteristics are different as compared to the other two characters. The story has consequently discussed Tom’s obsession with the woman, as being the reason as to why he fantasizes of being in a romantic relationship with the woman. Tom seems to be carried away by emotions, to the point where he is not able to control himself, thus feeling offended when Stanley insults the woman. Tom’s obsessions convince him to pour his heart out to the woman, a move which leads him into frustration after the woman rejects his request (Lessing, n.d). This move forces not only Tom but also the three men to continue with their work and to shift their focus from the woman.
(2).
Character as an element of poetry has been addressed in student’s retelling of the story, however, the way it has been addressed has been on a particular character and not on all characters. The student has focused on the themes of sexual desires and romantic fantasy, hence concentrating on Tom as the character whose sexual desires made him to dream of having a sexual relationship with the woman (Lessing, n.d). In addition, the story has not also delved deeper into the woman as a character, but on Tom who is the protagonist in the story, since the flow of events in the story relies on the actions that he makes. For that reason, the student has clearly depicted Tom’s actions, through describing his thoughts, the moves he made and his reactions when his requests were turned down by the woman. The student has consequently addressed the character clearly, through focusing on his actions throughout the story until the end where the character is force to return to his work. Finally, through the description of Tom’s action, the student has been able to explain the themes of both sexual fantasy and romantic desires.
Reference
Lessing, D. (n.d). A Woman on a Roof.
