In the introduction to
Shikasta (the first volume in the trilogy), dated 1978, the author says that her
inspiration - or starting point - for the entire series was the Old Testament. The God of
the Old Testament is not fashionable anymore, admits the author, but that is not reason enough to question his relevance. Tradition and heritage are not words one normally associates with Doris Lessing, but the author sets out to prove one wrong. This work was something of an
experiment for the author - quite deliberately, the author sets out to be different - but an experiment that proved to be so successful (and popular) that the first volume was followed, in rapid succession, by four others.
Though they share the same metaphorical universe, the five volumes in this series may be (broadly) divided into two broad categories:
-> Shikasta, The Sirian Experiments and The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire may be grouped under the first category; and described as classical science fiction.
-> The
Marriages and
The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, however, are closer to psychological fiction; with an element of mythology or myth making in them.
What these novels share (besides the author and the fictional cosmos) is a strongly spiritual element. It is the sacred or the spiritual that provides the basic framework that holds the entire series together.
We live in an era of certainty, says the author, with little space left over for our imagination. There is much hidden below this surface reality - if only we dare to explore. In
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five, the author explores issues relating to sexuality, gender issues, and issues relating to the male-female divide. The author does not hesitate to discuss the "battle of the sexes" (the struggle for dominance between the sexes) but these topics are broached with sensitivity, compassion, and with a touch of romance, if not an element of fantasy. In spite of being a woman author, and sometime feminist, the author has broken some barriers and ignored other (social) conventions.
Doris Lessing is a serious author - an author who is taken seriously by her readers - seriously enough to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize (in 1981), and awarded the Nobel Prize (in 2007). Perhaps, that is the reason the author has avoided controversy despite being controversial! The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five can be read at two different levels: as a fantasy pure and simple, or as a modern exploration into sexual themes and mores.
There is a sub-theme to this novel as well. "Our ways are peace and plenty; their ways - war!" mouths the author.
Stated in somewhat broad and simplistic terms, this is the starting point of the journey for the heroine (Al.Ith) as she sets out for Zone Four. Differences in upbringing, background or outlook, these differences must be bridged if the marriage (union) is to be a successful one. Forbidden - yet fascinating - that is how the author describes the contours of Zone Four.