The Sweetest Dream - A Lessing Lesson

This is the book that Doris Lessing published in lieu of volume three of her autobiography, leaving one to wonder how much of her actual life experience is contained herein. Her stated reason for taking the the fiction path for volume three is to avoid hurting persons who are stilll living. It's easy to see how this might be the case, because few escape the subtle yet searing heat of Lessing's gaze. The sweet dreams of the title are the idealistic notions that dominated popular thought among the young people of the sixties. The bitterness of reality is the picture that we are shown. 

The central stage of this novel is a kitchen table in a stately family home in Hampstead, presided over by Frances Lennox. She is the long-suffering daughter-in-law of the matron of the house, the widow Julia Lennox. Frances longs for a career in the theatre, but accepts a position as writer for a left-wing journal in order to support the endless stream of young people who occupy the lower levels of the house (Julia keeps the upstairs for herself, aloof from the uncultured crowd below, whom she cannot understand). Around this table the events of a generation are played out through the interactions of somewhat exaggerated but very well-developed characters. Each character is flawed in one way or in many ways, and each can be seen as representative of a firmly held ideal - a dream, if you will - manifesting in the real world, however, as ultimately damaging its intended beneficiaries to one extent or another, in the face of the dreamer's determined refusal to see any of it. The dreams die hard - the sad beneficiaries die far too easily.

 One example is Julia's son, Johnny Lennox, former husband of main character Frances. He focuses his considerable charisma to promote his fervent belief in the inevitable triumph of communism, and Stalinism in particular, and the great society to follow. The human tragedies he leaves in his own wake are not relevant to him. Petty individual differences do not realy matter, after all. The revolution is everything. He sees no problem at all in dropping off, unannounced, the anorexic daughter of his new wife to live with his ex, Frances, since she is a problem to Johnny and his new love. Will he help to support her? Silly question - this isn't about money.

As the story shifts in the second half to a newly "liberated" nation in Africa, the tragic price that must often be paid by common and decent people for being subjected to the paradisaic dreams of others really strikes home. Very few inhabitants of this novel come off particularly well. Most are self-absorbed at best, and some are truly vicious in their idealism. The ones for whom Lessing shows any admiration are those who have no grand dreams of how society should be transformed for the good of all. They simply see what they can do to help and proceed to do it, asking for nothing in return from anyone.

 This is a powerful story, well-written with three-dimensional characters. It holds the reader's interest without high drama, orc battles, or mysterious codes to decipher. Yet for those with dearly held ideas about how the world should be (for the good of humanity), they may find a harsh mirror before them. On the other hand, mirrors were regularly presented to the high-intensioned persons in this story and they demonstrated a remarkable ability to pretend that they didn't see themselves. So never mind, you world savers. You can enjoy this great book too!