多麗絲·萊辛始終關注人類個體的生存境遇,與之相應的是她對個人空間的探索。個人空間指居住個體在其間可以擺脫社會分類和身份建構的限定,發現自我,回歸自我的空間。萊辛作品多以房子作為最有可能成為個人空間的場所。《野草在歌唱》一書中,房子表現出極強的束縛性和明顯的對社會空間的從屬性。殖民地白人對身份的固守讓房子成為身份的象征符號,成為構建和強化身份的場所,惡化了個體自我的扭曲狀態,體現出明顯的束縛性。另一方面,規訓的社會空間以其無所不在的監視和同質化的生產性使個體自動捍衛它,失去了建立個人空間的意識和能動性,使房子從屬于它,成為它的延續。然而,房子依然一度表現出個人空間的特征,其間也曾出現過由個人關系構建的個人空間,為個體自我的復蘇創造了機遇。但由于缺乏個體的自覺意識和積極努力,這兩種個人空間都是短暫的、脆弱的。在此作品中,萊辛通過對房子作為個人空間的探討表達了對扭曲、分裂自我的社會空間的批判,也暗示了面對強大的社會空間時構建個人空間的艱難。

The prominent presence of the house and self in Doris Lessing’s works implies her exploration into the possibility of the house to evolve into a real personal space,a space of self-discovery where the dwellers can be outside of and free from the determinations of social categories and identity constructions.In The Grass Is Singing,the house is characterized by its confining quality due to the white settlers’ insistence on their superior identity,and its subordination to disciplinary social space because of the omnipresent surveillance and homogenizing inclination of the latter,which paralyzes the individual’s awareness of and initiative in establishing personal space.Against all these,the house temporarily demonstrates the features of personal space and the personal space structured by personal relationship does appear,however fragile.Through the exploration of the house as a potential personal space,Lessing expresses her criticism of the monolithic social space with its distorting and repressing impact on the individual’s self.The difficulty of establishing the personal space testifies the power of social space.