The Fifth Child, written by Doris Lessing explores the idea of perfection if in actuality it is achievable. Throughout this essay, I will prove Lessing's role as hostile narrator. Lessing paints a very negative picture of the Lovatts" from the very beginning of her novel and continues to do so throughout its entirety. "Harriet and David met each other at an office party neither had particularly wanted to go to, and both knew at once that this is what they had been waiting for"(7). Throughout the novel, The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing, Harriet and David discover the dangers of perfection in the face of an imperfect world. In the beginning of the novel Lessing shows Harriet and David successfully constructing the perfect life they both dreamt of - an "old-fashioned" life centered on togetherness, family, and contentment. However, the perfect life they attempted to create is in severe contrast to the actuality of the world that goes on outside their home. As this external reality becomes a part of their every day life, their dreams of perfection seem futile and unachievable. In the end, the perfect world they attempted to establish is lost completely in the darkness of a flawed world. .
The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing, opens to a scene in which we see how eccentric Harriet and David's characters are. Lessing describes them as "conservative, old-fashioned, not to say obsolescent" (7) for their dreams and values as compared to their colleagues. Harriet is looked down upon as a virgin in a time where random sexual activity is considered to be the standard. David has only been in one, long, monogamous relationship prior to meeting Harriet. They are both very sure of the type of individual they are looking for."[Harriet saw] her future in the old way, that a man would hand her the keys of her kingdom and there she would find everything her nature demanded refusing all muddles and dramas [David's wife] must be like him in this: that she knew where happiness lay and how to keep it he was working for a home"(13).
