Thatcher's BritainMargaret Thatcher became Britain's first female prime minister in 1979. The 10 years she was at the power were characterized by many changes in politics. Thatcher had such a huge impact on the country that her beliefs and way of governing are now known as "Thatcherism". The novel The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing was written in 1998 and is set in the last decades of the 20th century, a period dominated by Thatcherism. Lessing's story reflects, in many respects, Thatcher's ideas and the effects of her rule in the United Kingdom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The novel begins with Harriet and David, a young couple who dream of a perfect family. Until the birth of their fifth child, Ben, they lived this "perfect" life, with their big house, extravagant dinners with extended family, and perfect little kids. Lessing describes this seemingly unattainable life as a commentary on the idealistic "traditional family values" that were at the forefront of Margaret Thatcher's ideology. Thatcher believed that, to create a more perfect and peaceful England, society must be built on the value of respectability and that "conventional" families would help improve lives. Harriet and David's little family was the perfect example of "conventionality" until Ben came along. When Ben was born, the family fell into turmoil and was eventually split up. Even though there was clearly something wrong with Ben, no one admitted it. I believe this is a commentary on how Thatcher's perfect world, built on traditional values ​​and conventional, respectable families, is not a reality. Similar to how Ben, a sort of monstrosity, is born into a perfectly normal family, disasters and misfortunes occur in society, even when the government is doing everything it can to try to create a "perfect" world. The “Ben” of Thatcher's England can be illustrated by a number of factors, from divorce rates, to unemployment, to recession. Although, statistically, things appeared to be getting worse for the United Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher's rule, she continued to focus on the things that were going well, such as attempts to reverse the effects of inflation, and ignored the negative effects of 'inflation. its policies, such as the growing pay gap between men and women and higher-than-average unemployment rates due to the government's attempts to prevent massive inflation. In The Fifth Child, the doctors continue to insist that there is nothing wrong with Ben, because he is physically healthy. This could be a metaphor for the way Margaret Thatcher and her administration tried to make people believe that everything was going well when the statistics showed otherwise. Lessing's novel uses themes such as perfection and family values ​​to comment on the social norms established at the time were the result of Thatcherism.