In Doris Lessing's novel, The Fifth Child, there are two main characters who are unaware of some, if not most, of the things they do. This unconsciousness the characters experience is what leads to inevitable conflicts in the story: the distance that grows between the members of the Lovatt family These unconscious actions and thoughts in the characters which lead to division within the family. Lovatt also raises in the novel the question of who is truly responsible for the misfortune of the previously supposedly perfect family.Say No to Plagiarism Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get it. original essayThe most obvious character who ignores the entire One of his actions is none other than Ben From the beginning, the boy seems to never know his own strength since his conception, Ben has harmed Harriet; making her extremely moody and irritable, but also physically hurting her from the inside out supposedly. kicking harder than a child should. As Harriet gave birth to Ben, she noted that “she was bruised – she knew it; inside she must have a huge black bruise. . . and no one would ever know” (Lessing 48). It is an unspoken thought between each character in the novel that Ben is different – ​​almost alien – however, this is not his fault. Neither Ben himself nor Harriet had a choice in how the boy turned out when he was born. It's clear that Ben does in fact have special needs; what exactly, we don't know, but the evidence is clearly there. In the mid-20th century, when this novel is set, having a problem in a child was not acceptable, especially in a middle or upper class family. Ben can't help but notice that he has problems or disabilities, but his family nevertheless decides to send him to an institution to die. This is where Harriet's unconscious thoughts appear most often. Harriet can repeat over and over how much she dislikes Ben throughout the novel and how she wishes more than anything that he was dead, but something she cannot control is her maternal instinct and affection . towards the unwanted boy. Even though Ben is not accepted into his family, Harriet still cares for him and begins to love him as the novel progresses. David, the children and the grandparents are all happy when Ben is sent to the institution, knowing that he will die there, but they are perfectly fine with this fact. Harriet, still excluded, doesn't feel the same way. She may say she hates Ben and wants him dead, but when that thought becomes reality, Harriet decides to save her son. No matter how hard she tries to stifle or stifle him, Harriet cares about Ben and she wants to raise him as her own, just like her four previous children. When Ben was just a few months old, Harriet said, "She made a point of going to see him every day when her other children weren't on the way, and taking him to the big bed for a while." of caresses and games, while she had with them all. Never, not once, did he immerse himself in a moment of love” (Lessing 56). Harriet wants Ben to be a normal child, but even though he never will be in her eyes, she can't help but feel the instinctive love she feels for him and she will always make sure that he is safe. Even at the end of the novel, when all the other children have decided to leave Harriet and Ben is almost an adult himself, Harriet gives her fifth child a sheet of paper with the address where he could find his parents. he needs it afterwards.