Abstract:
Doris Lessing’s short story “An Old Woman and Her Cat” from her collection, The
Temptation of Jack Orkney, revolves around the nomadic experiences of an old and
homeless woman in various places and her survival under poor living circumstances
with her cat. The places occupied by the old woman in this story such as the
Council flats, the room in the slum and the ruined flat in a wealthy neighbourhood
cannot be considered as proper homes where people have a sense of belonging;
rather, they are just material places she tries to appropriate as shelters temporarily
on the way without a feeling of warmth and attachment to them. Focusing on the
woman and the cat’s relationship with their surrounding provides a discussion on
space and nomadism within the framework of Henri Lefebvre’s spatial tripartite
- the perceived, the conceived and the lived - which is related to Rosi Braidotti’s
theory on nomadism. It also reveals the social norms and values, which disregard
an old woman and her cat’s struggle for life in a metropolis. Therefore, this article aims to discuss not only the material qualities of transient places in London and
their conceived perspective which segregates the poor and the homeless from the
wealthy but also the old woman’s configuration of alternative spaces for herself out
of the ruins without a sense of home.
