A sultry sun beats down on three roof workers in Lessing's "A Woman on a Roof," where, "lying on her back, with knees up, eyes closed, a brown women lolling in the sun" (Lessing 809) on a nearby roof only amplifies the heat for these exhausted workers especially the youngest, Tom. Mesmerized by her oiled-to-perfection physique, Tom gazes endlessly at her as if in a trance day in and day out and the enchantment continues when he returns home. Dreaming of her scantily clad in a negligee and appeasing him, even though never speaking a word to her, he nonetheless deems himself her lover and protector. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, Tom musters up courage to approach the voluptuous woman after a blistering hot workday that leaves him delusional, trying to live a dream relationship that leaves him the innocent victim of disenchantment.

While the weather exhausts...