The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five
1980 novel by Doris Lessing
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five is a 1980 science fiction novel by Doris Lessing. It is the second book in her five-book Canopus in Argos series, the first being Shikasta (1979). It was first published in the United States in March 1980 by Alfred A. Knopf, and in the United Kingdom in May 1980 by Jonathan Cape.
The novel takes place in three of six metaphysical Zones that encircle the planet Shikasta (an allegorical Earth), and concerns two ordained marriages that link the patriarchal Zone Four with the matriarchal Zone Three, and the tribal Zone Five. The story is told from the point of view of the matriarchal utopian Zone Three, and is about gender conflict and the breaking down of barriers between the sexes. Lessing called the Canopus in Argos series "space fiction", but The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five is generally referred to as feminist science fiction.
The novel is influenced by spiritual and mystical themes in Sufism, an Islamic belief system in which Lessing had taken an interest in the mid-1960s. The zones are said to correspond to Sufism's different levels of consciousness, and symbolise the "Sufi ladder to enlightenment". Lessing was criticised for abandoning her traditional fiction and switching to science fiction in her Canopus in Argos series. Notwithstanding this criticism, The Marriages was generally well received by critics, with some reviewers calling it one of Lessing's best works on the topic of gender conflict.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7750420. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1980 and 1979.
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