Doris Lessing was raised by a very strict mother in a r igid household. Eventually, she was placed in a convent with nuns who enforced even stricter rules reinforcing concepts of da mnation and punishment if she didn't obey. She also spent time in an all-girls high school. She left home at age 15. This strict, unpleasant upbringing influenced her to become a writer as she could channel her painful feelings into written form.