The Golden Notebook

Compare and contrast the Anna portrayed in Free Women with the Anna portrayed in her own first-person notebooks. How are the characters similar? How are they different? Support your response with evidence from the text.

What is the purpose of Free Women? Why do you think Lessing inserts a more traditional novel within the framework of the very unconventional structure of The Golden Notebook?

The black notebook is concerned with nostalgia—in particular, the nostalgia for war. Why does Anna disavow both her novel, Frontiers of War, based on this period of her life, and her memories of the events themselves?

How does Anna’s political disillusionment factor into her decision not to write, or her inability to write with authenticity? Strengthen your answer by referring to the text.

In the yellow notebook, Anna writes a novel about Ella, who embarks upon an affair with a married man, only to be jilted. Why does Anna (and, by extension, Ella) seek out married men with whom to have affairs? What is at stake in her desire to become sexually and emotionally involved with married men?

What characterizes Anna’s relationship with Mrs. Marks? Why does Anna seek psychotherapy and what does it accomplish for her?

How is the relationship between Anna and Molly characterized? How is their relationship to independence, or “freedom,” portrayed? Are they “free women”?

How does Saul Green impact Anna? How does their affair impact her relationship with her own writing?