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''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'' is a 1980 science fiction novel by Nobel Prize in Literature-winner 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 January 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 and militaristic Zone Four with the matriarchal and egalitarian Zone Three, and the tribal and barbaric 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. In the mid-1960s Lessing had become interested in Sufism, an Islamic belief system, and she used many Sufi concepts in the ''Canopus in Argos'' series. In ''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'', 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 with spiritual and mystical themes. Notwithstanding this criticism, ''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'' was generally well received by critics, with some reviewers calling it one Lessing's best works on the topic of gender conflict. ''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'' was also adapted as an opera by composer Philip Glass with story-libretto by Lessing, and premiered in Heidelberg, Germany in May 1997. The US premiere was performed in Chicago in June 2001. ==Zones== First described in the opening book of the series, ''Shikasta'', six metaphysical Zones (akin to cosmological planes) encircle the planet Shikasta (an allegorical Earth〔〔〔). These "concentric shells" (numbered One to Six) each represent different "levels of spiritual being." ''Shikasta'' only deals with Zone Six, the innermost and least pure of the Zones, which is "a kind of purgatory in which humans wait out the time between incarnations on earth". In ''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'', Lessing describes some of the higher Zones in this "spiritual landscape" as self-contained "countries", each with their own "societies" that have evolved independently of the others over time. Adjacent Zones in the sequence border each other, from Zone Six (the lowest) up to Zone One (the highest and purest), each with "increasingly mountainous topography." Crossing the frontiers from one Zone to another is possible, but generally avoided as straying too close to the border leaves one feeling ill-at-ease and sometimes even physically sick. For those who need to move into another Zone, special shields are provided for protection against the debilitating effects of the foreign atmosphere (both physical and ideological).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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