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<title> The Fifth Child The main theme </title>
I will in this essay show that the main theme of Lessing's The Fifth Child is how the couple (Harriet and David) is punished with the birth of Ben for their belief that they could plan to be happy and that they were better than everyone else. I will also argue that the setting in suburban England from the middle of the '60s and forth is important for the theme to be conveyed. 
Harriet and David are at odds with the general consensus of the family. They believe that family life is a requirement for a happy life. The reason for this is their respective childhood, which are the opposites of each other. We are told that "Harriet's parents had taken it for granted that family life was the basis for a happy one." (12) Hence Harriet grew up in what is normally perceived as the 'blue print structure' of a family, both her parents and sisters living together. David's parents on the other hand were divorced. The passage "He joked. Far too often, that he had two sets of parents..." (12) starts an account of how his parents have remarried and how "there had been no nastiness or spite, if plenty of discomfort, even unhappiness - that is for the children." What we have here are indications on why they believe in the family as an institution; While David has seen what life in a broken family is like with all the tension and pressure it puts upon those it concerns, Harriet has seen the good sides of it. She knows that her family was happy because they were a family. 
Steadfast in the conviction that they are to be happy they are being careless. They buy a house that is much too big for them and not to mention much too expensive. But they seem to rely upon the fact that they are set out for happiness and that is what they will have no matter what. They are also convinced that by working hard they will be able to afford the house. "She would work for two years, commuting with David to London and then..." (14). And then, then they could start for real to make a family. Again they are careless. The first child is born not long after the house is bought and their plans are scattered. But they manage to cope with the situation and although they have more children in a very short time and need help to take care of them all they consider themselves happy.
This is where the essences of the theme lie. They are happy when having had three children within four years, the house is always crowded with people and every holiday is bliss. Despite this they are not content. They want to have more children. It is in fact a form of hubris. On the Easter festivities of the year their fourth child is born William, the husband of Harriet's sister Sarah, expresses the collective opinion of all of their relatives about this business of a large family. "And now that's got to be it, sister-in-law Harriet" (33). The response from Harriet clearly marks hers and David's intentions; "We are going to give it a rest, ... for at least three years" (34)
It is at this point that Ben is born. But even before his birth there are indications that something is wrong. The baby is tormenting Harriet all through her pregnancy "...for she could not sleep or rest because of the energy of the foetus, which seemed to be trying to tear its way out of her stomach." (49). He enters the story as some kind of punishment for their hubris, for thinking themselves being better than everyone else and for trying to control their destiny.
We get a hint of this early in the book when Harriet, reassured in the knowing that she and David has a perfect life says that her sister Sarah and her husband has got a child with Down's syndrome because of their unhappiness and quarrelling. On page 141 she realizes that the same thing has happened to her and David, that they have got Ben for their sins when she is saying to David "We are being punished...For presuming. For thinking we could be happy. Happy because we decided we would be"
The setting is, I think, a very important part of Lessing's story. It is foremost the time and culture setting that is of interest to us. What make the story so intriguing is the tension that arises between Harriet and David on the one hand and the rest of their family when they announce their plans of a big family. When the story begins it is the early '60s, a time of movements for equality between men and women. It was not consider a good thing of a woman with career opportunities to give these up I order to have a family life. She was instead to pursue her career in order to eradicate the division of the sexes. This is of course why people around them look upon her and David as oddballs. But they endure in their situation for they believe in themselves and the life they have chosen.
The importance of the place aspect of setting is shown in that they, in order to preserve their happy life style shun the outside world. It is a world that is changing, turning in to something frightening and incomprehensible. "The little town they lived in had changed... Brutal incidents and crimes ... were now commonplace." (29) "The young Lovatts made themselves read the news paper, and watch the News on television, though their instinct was to do neither. At least they ought to know what went on outside their kingdom..." (30). This world that they are trying so hard not to confront is then abruptly brought into their house together with Ben and his schoolmates.
Thus, to conclude then. I think that the main theme of Doris Lessng's The Fifth Child is that you should not strive to plan your destiny or trying to control your faith.
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