学士学位论文关于《飘》中女权主义文档格式.docx
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PerspectiveofFeminism
Abstract
MargaretMannerlyMitchell,anAmericanauthor,wonthePulitzerPrizein1937forhernovelGonewiththeWind.Itwastheonlybookshewroteinheralllife,MargaretMitchellwasborninAtlanta,whereshealwayshearaboutmanystoriesaboutthewarbetweenthenorthernandsouthernstatesinAmerican,thenwhenshewaswoundedinhome,shedeterminedtowriteabookaboutthewar.Thisnovelisoneofthemostpopularbooksofalltime.ThenovelGonewiththeWindwassetduringthetimesoftheCivilWarinAtlantic.Soonorlater,theAmericanCivilWarbrokeout.AshleyandCharlesjoinedthewar.Unfortunately,Charlesdiedinthewar.Scarlettbecameawidow,butshehasbeeninlovewithAshley.Inthefollowingarticle,firstly,ontheloveamongScarlettO’Hara,AshleyWilkesandRhettButlerwillbeintroducedbyanalyzingthecharacteristicofthethreeprincipals.Secondly,theloveofthefriendshipamongdifferentkindsofpersonwillbementioned.Thelastbutnottheleast,somethingabouttheloveoffamilymembersinthenovelofGonewiththewindwillbesaid.Finally,comparedwiththemodernsociety,whatthemethenovelrevelswillbesaid.
Keywords:
Love;
Friendship;
Familylove;
Reality.
Introduction
AsthefirstnovelwhichdepictsAmericanCivilWarfromwomen’sperspective,Margaretfocusesonthesufferingfromthewarofthosewomenwhostayathomeandtheirdifficultjourneyofreconstruction.Literarycritics,onthebasisoftheirrespectiveknowledgeandunderstandinghavegivendifferentevaluationaboutthisnovel.MostoftheirresearcherconcentratesonthehistoricalbackgroundofAmericanCivilWar,theabolitionistthough,Scarlett’sparticularcharacterandtheculturaldiscrepancybetweentheNorthandtheSouth.ManycriticsquestiontheliteraryvalueandoutdatedracialissueofGonewiththeWind.Someconsiderthenovelsuperficialwhiletreateditonlyasimplelovestory.However,theauthorthinksthatthenovelismostvaluableifreadwithanunderstandingofthreehistoricalbackgrounds,ourown,Mitchell’s,andScarlett’s.Onthebaseofperspectiveoffeministic,thispaperwoundanalyzestheawakeningoffemaleself-consciousnessreflectedinthisnovelanditspositiveeffectonthecauseofwomenliberation.ThefirstpartofthispaperisageneralintroductiontothetheoreticalFoundationwhichmainlyaboutFeminism.Thenthefollowingchapterisanalysesofthebook,ChapterthreeisfeministanalysisofGonewiththeWindandofScarlet’scharacteristic.
2.TheIntroductiontoFeminism
Feminismisthebeliefthatwomenshouldbeallowedthesamerights,powerandopportunitiesasmenandbetreatedinthesameway,orthesetofactivitiesintendedtoachievethisstate.Hundredyearsago,women’ssocialstatuewasquitelow,womenwastreatedasappendagetomen,theyonlyhadrightsofliving,theirmanner,speakingandbehaviorwereregulatedbyaseriesofseriousrulesanddiscipline.Withtheeducationspreadingamongwomenandtheawakeningoffemaleself-consciousness,theycametorealizethattheyshoulddefendtheireconomic,politicalandotherrightsandpursueequaltreatmentlikemen.Thenthereappearfeminism.Feminismisaseriesofmovementsaimedatdefining,establishing,anddefendingequalpolitical,economic,andsocialrightsandequalopportunitiesforwomen.Feminismismainlyfocusedonwomen'
sissues.
First-wavefeminismwasaseriesofactivitiesduringthenineteenthcenturyandearlytwentiethcentury.IntheU.K.andU.S.,itfocusedonpromotingequalcontract,marriage,parenting,andpropertyrightsforwomen.However,bytheendofthenineteenthcentury,activismfocusedmainlyongainingpoliticalpower,particularlytherightofwomen'
svoting,thoughsomefeministswereactiveincampaigningforwomen'
ssexualandeconomicrightsatthistime.
Second-wavefeminismisafeministmovementbeginningintheearly1960sandcontinuingtothe20thanditcoexistswiththird-wavefeminism.Secondwavefeminismislargelyconcernedwithissuesofequalitynotonlysuffrage,butthingslikeendingdiscrimination.Second-wavefeministstreatwomen'
sculturalandpoliticalinequalitiesasitsmainpurposesthattobedealwith.Duringthisperiod,feministencouragewomentounderstandaspectsoftheirpersonallivesdeeplybymeansofpublicpromoting.ThefeministactivistandauthorCarolHamishcameupwiththesloganforthefirsttime"
ThePersonalisPolitical"
whichbecamesynonymouswiththesecondwave.
Third-wavefeminismisstartfrom1900tothepresent.Itaroseasaresponsetowardfailuresofthesecondwaveandalsoasaresponsetothemovementscreatedbythesecondwave.Third-wavefeminismoftencorrectthesecondwave’sideasandmovementsthatarenotgoodforfemales.Itaccommodatescontradictions;
conflictandchanges.Thethirdwavehasitsoriginsinthemid-1980.FeministleasersinthesecondwavelikeGloriaAnzaldua,CherrieMoraga,andAndreLuredtriedtonegotiatefeminismthoughtthatrelatedtorace.
3.BackgroundofMargaretMitchell’sage
3.1Women’ssocialstatusinAmericansocietyreflectedinthenovel
ThestorytakesplaceinthesouthernplantationbeforeAmericanCivilWar.Atthattime,theSouthisanewreclaimedlandwheretheindustrialcivilizationhasnotyetpenetratedit.Theresidentsrestontherollingmoneygainedbycottonplantingandpicking.There,withintheshadowofchivalry,keepstheskin-deepgraceandsplendor.Womenlivingontheredsoilaredelicateflowers,tightlyclingingtomenanddecoratingmen’sworld.Theyhavenorightstovote.Norcantheycontroltheirbelongingsorchildrenaftertheygetmarried,letalonedrawawillormakeatreatywithouttheirhusbands’permission.Theirsocialstatusisparallelto“thatofaminororaslave”(DeborahL.Madsen,2006).Theyenduredualoppressionnotonlyfrommenbutalsofromthemselves,lyinginthesubordinatesocialpositionwithouttheprivilegetomanagetheirownlives.Inthismale-dominatedworld,menstiflewomen’sdevelopmentfromeveryaspect.
Firstly,theystraineverynervetoconfinewomeninthehousetomakesurethatwomen’signorancehasnotbeencorruptedbythesocietyandtheyaresatisfiedtobethelovely“vase”.Althoughmenprovidewomenwithprotection,clothingandfoodsources,theyhaveanessentialprerequisitethatmenshouldholdprimacyaswellasthecontrolofwomen.Womenareimprisonedathomewantingeconomicindependence.Theexclusiveapproachfortheirsocialstatusandeconomicwarrantyistomarryandgivebirthtobabies.
Secondly,menalsospirituallysuppresswomen.Theymayyieldtowomenandsatisfytheirallkindsofsmallrequirementsaboutthehouseholdaffairs;
neverthelessoncewomenhaveindependentopinions,theywillfeelpanicandpulleverystringtoholdthemback.Forinstance,whenScarlettbuysalumbermillanddecidestooperatebyherself,herhusbandFrank,thoughacoward,stillfeelsunacceptable:
“Frank,incommonwithallmenheknew,feltthatawifeshouldbeguidedbyherhusband’ssuperiorknowledge,shouldaccepthisopinionsinfullandhavenoneofherown”(MargaretMitchell,2008).Thereforemen’stoleranceisonthepremiseoftheassuranceofthemale-centeredstatus.Infact,menwouldrathergiveeverythingintheworldtowomenthanallowwomentohaveintelligenceandindependentviews.Inmen’sopinion,“womenshouldbeconfinedtothedomesticsphere,nurturingchildren,maintainingthehouseholdandservingtheirhusbands”(DeborahL.Madsen,2).Ifawomanshowsheranyintellectualadvantage,peoplewillisolateher,reputingthatshehasgobeyondherdueresponsibilitieswhicharegenerallydefinedasdressing,dancingandhousemanagement.
Regrettably,womenareimperceptiblyinfluencedbythelocationgivenfrommen.SouthernmothersinGonewiththeWindactastheexecutorofethicalcodes,inhibitingyounggirls’developmentoftheirtruecolors.TakeScarlettasanexample,sheiseducatedtobeanobedientladyevenfromchildhood.Hermotherandblackmammyhavealwaystriedtheirbesttoinstillthoseindispensablequalitiesofaladyintoher.“Youmustbemoregentle,dear,moresedate”,“Gentlemendonotlikeforwardgirls”,“Youngmissesshouldcas’downdeyeyesan’say,Well,suh,Ahmout’an’‘Jes’asyousay,suh.’”(MargaretMitchell,2008).Beforetheirmarriage,younggirlsshouldbetenderandlovelywithwell-educatedmanners;
howeverassoonastheygetmarried,womenbecomebirds,restrainedinthehouseandbusywiththehouseholdaffairsallday.Theymanagetheirhusbands’housesandeducatetheirchildren,consumingtheirintelligencejustinvarioustrivia.Moremiserablearethewidows:
wearingtheblack,noflowers,nolace,nojewelry,nofreetalks,nosocialactivitiesandevennolaughter,juststayingathomeandmourningdaylong.Nowondertheauthorcallthisasbarbarousas“HinduSettee”(MargaretMitchell,2008).
3.2SocialinfluencesonMargaretMitchell’sfemalesense
Generallyspeaking,theauthor’sthinking,emotion,andvalueorientationarealwayskeenlyconnectedwithandinfluencedbysocialcurrents.ThesameistrueofMargaret’sfeminism.ThroughGonewiththeWind,theauthordepictsaseriesofoutstandingandtoughfemaleimages,displayingtheirenormouscontributiontotheSouth.Eitheritslanguageorthecharacters’behaviorsarepermeatedwithMargaret’sintensivefemaleconsciousness,whichactuallykeepsupwiththetimes.
4.Feminismreflectedbytypicalfemalecharacters
4.1FeminisminScarlettO’Hara
ScarlettO’Hara,theheroine,isanartisticcharacterthathasstrong,clear-cut,andrebellious