Setting

Physical setting

The story “DHSS” by Doris Lessing takes place in London, England. The setting of the story is indicated by the reference to the Underground, as well as to Kentish Town, an area of northwest London where the woman asks the man to drop her off.

The time setting can be determined from the man mentioning that he started work at the DHSS 15 years ago. As the DHSS was formed in 1968 and dissolved in 1988, this places the story in the 1980s. The time setting can be pinpointed further by the reference to the automobile brand Datsun, which the man is driving. Since the Datsun brand name was replaced by Nissan in 1986, this places the story sometime between 1984 and 1986.

The story takes place during the span of an hour or so, as we follow the woman through several places: outside the Underground where she begs for money, inside the supermarket, in a nearby outdoor café where the man buys her coffee and sandwiches, and then in the man’s car when he drives her home. Despite the woman being resentful of receiving help and distrustful of the man until the end, we notice that the places are increasingly out of h...