Due to its harsh climate, Antartica is non-ecumene, meaning it is uninhabited by people. Although it is unoccupied, several countries signed a treaty, each country holding territorial claims to different parts of Antarctica, some territories overlapping.
Lessing's childhood involved going out into nature and enjoying it as best as she could until her mother would tell her to stop and be a proper woman. Lessing lived after World War I from which his father suffered injuries that prevented him from walking again.
