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[jasonlulu_2000]

Doris Lessing, born on October 22,1919, is a British writer． In October 2007 Lessing became the llth woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in the 106-year history．
In her long and complex career,Doris Lessing has published dozens of books of fiction as well as plays and nonfiction． She wrote persuasively about politics，feminism，communism and black-white relations in Africa before moving on to explore the emotional crack of human beings in her famous 1962 novel, The Golden Notebook．
Ms． Lessing inspired a generation of feminists with this breakthrough novel, which informed the 20th-century view of the male-female relationship and the feminist movement regarded as a pioneering work．
Ms． Lessing wrote honestly about the inner lives of women and she rejected the idea that they should abandon their lives to marriage and children． The Golden Notebook told the story of Anna Wulf, a woman who wanted to live freely ．
Because Ms． Lessing frankly described female anger and aggression, she was attacked as unfeminine． But Ms． Lessing also felt that focusing only on feminism hid the other issues raised by the novel． So she always had sharp comments about the feminist movement, though many of its members admired her．Speaking in New York in 1970, she said, �I've got the feeling that the sex war is not the most vital onegoing on nor is it the most important problem in our lives．"
14 years later, she said that the women's movement should have tried to work with men． �How can you expect things to change ," she said, �if you're talking to yourself?" Asked about her anti-feminist feelings when her work referred to the issues that fueled the women's movement, she responded, "It wouldn't be enough to say I'm a woman, after all?"

What does the underlined sentence mean? Especially, "It wouldn't be enough to say I'm a woman, after all"
Does she want to say "she is not a woman"? Should it be written as "It wouldn't be enough to say I'm not a woman, after all"?


Thanks!

Jason

[IanT]

It's difficult to be sure. I can write a paraphrase which explains what I think it means, but I may be wrong...

"She was asked about the contradiction of having written about the issues which provoked the feminist movement while having some anti-feminist views herself...

(not really a contradiction, in my view, but that's what is suggested by "when" here.)

...and she answered "Would you understand if I said that, in the end, I realized I was a woman (and my feelings as a woman contradict feminist views, to some extent)? I'm not sure you would understand..."

That's my best guess, anyway. The question mark at the end of her answer is important. It suggests that this is the answer she wants to give, but she doesn't think the questioner will understand or appreciate it.

Hope helps,
Ian
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[jasonlulu_2000]

That's a brilliant answer! Thanks!