Abstract
Doris Lessing's novel Martha Quest, the first in her Children of Violence series, is a bildungsroman chronicling a young girl's psychological and social development and attempt to gain freedom and social agency. The narrative is characterized by the near-constant presence of contradiction, particularly with regard to Martha's thoughts, desires and attitudes. The young girl's psyche seems to be, at times, at war with itself. Applying poststructuralist analysis to the narrative uncovers themes otherwise obscured, suggesting a more stable trajectory of development in the protagonist and calling into question assumptions regarding gender, freedom, belonging and peace.