Early in The Summer before the Dark, middle-aged protagonist Kate Brown resigns herself to the realization that the upcoming summer season is going to be her last before the next stage of life, aging, sets upon her. Ironically, she will discover a new sense of self that rejuvenates her personally and establishes a new sense of social dynamics with her family, friends, coworkers, and strangers. In addressing issues of aging women, Lessing offers a collective understanding of how physiological and societal changes can be a positive force in entering a more advanced stage of life.

Psychologist Carl Jung's explorations of the second half of human life as offering new potential states of consciousness, akin to the metaphor of the sun, certainly reappears in Lessing's imagery.

Personal examination of the roles and identities one assumes in various social structures, particularly family and work, can lead to a...