Configuration of Transient Shelters as Alternative Spaces through Nomadic Acts in Doris Lessing’s “An Old Woman and Her Cat”

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.