Equality, Friendship and Harmony Interpretation of Postmodern Ethical Thought in Lessing’s on Cats

Abstract

British post-modernist writer Doris Lessing paid close attention to the changes in the moral order of society in the 20th century, answering the value and meaning of the proposition of “ethics” in the formation of the times in her works, and constantly reflecting on the ethical relationship between human beings and various subjects in society. This idea is fully reflected in her novel On Cats. On Cats adopts a first-person narrative style, and through a series of storylines such as “I” witnessing “my” family dealing with a flood of sick cats, de-sexing cats, and rescuing and caring for sick cats, it vividly shows the daily life of people and cats and the realistic picture of the life in that times. In addition, through “my” mother’s repression and resistance, the miserable life of working people, and urban air pollution, On Cats also reproduces the “new problems” in the development of the relationship between human beings, human and non-human creatures, and human and nature in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, from the perspective of postmodern ethics, this paper interprets the ethical relationship between humans, animals and nature as expressed in On Cats, thus criticizing a series of modern qualities such as masculocentrism, upper class centrism and anthropocentrism. In addition, this paper aims to break the dichotomy between the subject and the other, and to build a “community” in which husband and wife respect each other, people are friendly and supportive of each other, and people live in harmony with nature. This paper also has implications for the harmonious and stable development of modern society today.