A Feminist Reading of a Woman on the RoofThe story "A Woman on the Roof" by Doris Lessing may seem to be about some men who get angry at a woman for sunbathing on the roof. The men feel that she is a distraction and are obviously annoyed by her presence. They are not happy that this beachgoer is out there on display and illustrate these feelings of discontent by constantly whistling and yelling at her. Men also make several rude and sexist comments to her throughout the story. In a time like the one in which this story is set, males were considered far superior to women, and comments like those made by men would not have been considered out of the ordinary. What is extremely surprising, and completely out of the ordinary, though, is the fact that this woman didn't even seem bothered by their actions. If you take this into account, you find that the real source of men's anger towards the woman was not simply because she sunbathed, but rather was due to the fact that she showed destitution towards them in an era where women they were expected to submit to the demands of men. The men in this story obviously have strong feelings of superiority and power over the opposite sex and expect women to naturally give in to their demands. These feelings are illustrated already in the opening paragraph, when they see the woman for the first time. As they worked, they “joked about taking an egg from a woman in the apartments below them, to poach it for dinner” (Lessing 856). Such a comment demonstrates men's beliefs about gender roles: that women will be at home, not work, and will be eager to serve men. The comments continue; later, when he referred to the woman as... middle of the card... woman. And, while it may not have won women the right to vote or gained women admission into institutions of higher learning, it stood on its own in a normal, everyday situation, and that's a start. She is a woman who represented one of the exceptions in her era; she wasn't just a woman on a rooftop, but rather a heroine of her generation. Works Cited Allen, Orphia Jane. "Doris Lessing." Criticism of short stories, vol. 6. Ed. Tommaso Votteler. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.Atack, Margaret. "Doris Lessing." Criticism of short stories, vol. 6. Ed. Tommaso Votteler. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990. Lessing, Doris. "A woman on the roof." The Harper Fiction Anthology. Ed. Silvano Barnet. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. 856-862. Works consulted Baron, Mary. "Doris Lessing." Critical Inquiry into Short Fiction, Vol. 4. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993.