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论文

摘要

《傲慢与偏见》是19世纪英国著名小说家简·奥斯汀一部脍炙人口、经久不衰的作品，该书出版于1813年。

小说的故事情节简单、自然、通俗易懂，所描述的人物真实而生动。

简·奥斯丁是在18世纪后期女性自我意识渐渐觉醒的大背景下开始自己的文学创作的，是一位在男权社会里试图不断认识自我、寻找自我的女作家。

她的作品以独特的视角及审美方式体现了女性意识。

从奥斯丁对日常生活的细致描绘中，可以看出她对社会是极其关注的。

简·奥斯汀以其敏锐的女性视觉，将长期处于边缘和劣势地位的女性推进了人们的视野。

在《傲慢与偏见》中，作者塑造出形形色色的女性人物形象，突出表现了女主人公自尊自立、争取平等与自由的女性意识。

从而凸显了奥斯汀女性意识的觉醒。

关键词：

傲慢与偏见；女性形象；女性意识

Introduction

PrideandPrejudice,probablythemostpopularofJaneAusten’sfinishednovels,isalsoalovestorywhichishumorousanddeeplyserious.Thenoveldependsonloveandmarriagebetweentheheroandtheheroine.PrideandPrejudiceinthesurfaceisanobservationofthemarriage;however,infactitisacompleteandseveresummarizationaboutthefeminineconsciousnessinearly19thcentury.

Inthewesterncountries,theresearchonPrideandPrejudicehasrelativelyformedthecompletesystem,especiallysuchastheexpertDavidSamuelandtheEnglishcriticDavidNaghan.Theyanalyzetheheroandheroine’scharactersanddiscussJaneAusten’swritingstyles.However,inChinatheresearchattachimportancetotheheroineElizabethBennet’scharacterportrayedaswellastheanalysisofhercharacters,anddiscusstheessenceofthemarriageinPrideandPrejudice.

BeingdifferentfromtheformerresearchonPrideandPrejudice,thisthesisbasesonthewriter’sbackgroundandcharacter’ssettingofthenovel,intendstoanalyzetheawakeningofthefemaleconsciousnessfromdifferentanglessuchaslanguage,behavior,psychologicaldepictionandmaritalviewpointetc.Onanalyzingthefeminineconsciousness,thisthesisistoobtaintheideaofJaneAustenaboutwomanrights.Especially,ElizabethBennetisthespokesmanofJaneAustenandisalsoherfavoritecharacter.Althoughthischaracterimageisnotmainlythetypicalimagefornewwomanright,itisthisimagefromwhichJaneAustenpointsouttheproblemaboutwomen’streatingofloveandmarriage.Consequently,onanalyzingthefeminineconsciousnessinthenovel,thisthesisisabletorevealthisnovel’sgist---loveisthefoundationofmarriageandwomenshouldhavethesamerightsasmen.

Ⅰ.SocialBackground

A.JaneAusten’sLifeandBackground

JaneAusten,thefeministleaderMaryWollstoncraft’scontemporary,agreatwomanwriterinEnglishliterature,representedthatwomenwereplayinganincreasinglyimportantpartindailylife.

1.JaneAusten’sFamilyandEducation

Theseventhofeightchildren,andsecondoftwogirls,JaneAustenwasbornonDecember16,1775,inthevillageofSteventon,Hampshire,England.Austen’sfather,theReverendGeorgeAusten,wasanAnglicanpriest,who,despitebeingorphanedasayoungchild,hadgraduatedfromSt.John’sCollege,Oxford.Jane’smother,CassandraLeighAusten,wasofhighersocialstandingthanGeorgeAusten,andonlyhiseducationandprestigeasaclergymanmadethecourtshippossible.TheAustenfamily’sfirsthomewastherectoryofSt.Nicolas’sChurchinSteventon.Thereverend’sincomewasmeagerforafamilyoften,buttheAustens’prestigeinthevillagewashigherthanincomealonecoulddictate,andtheylivedcomfortably.Thechildrenwereespeciallydeartooneanother.Goodfamilyenvironmentprovidedagoodfoundationforherlearning,livingandlaterwriting.

JaneAusten’sonlysister,Cassandra,wastwoyearsolderthanJaneandapparentlyalwaysthecentralpersonageinherlife.Accordingtoonefamilystory,Mrs.AustenoncedeclaredthatifCassandraweretohaveherheadchoppedoff,Janewoulddemandthatprivilegetoo.ForallofJane’slife,Cassandraandshewereroommates,confidantes,andcompanions.Theyseemedtohavegivenoneanothertotalacceptance,trust,sympathy,andaffection.Thetwowererarelyoutofcommunication,andduringbriefperiodsofseparationroutinelyexchangedlongletters.

Thegirls’formaleducationwassporadic.WhenJanewassevensheandCassandraweresent,withtheircousinJaneCooper,toOxfordtostudy.AsJanecooper’smotherdiedofdisease,thegirlsremainedatschoolforthenexttwoyears.JaneandCassandraresumedtheireducationattheAbbeySchoolinreading.TherewaslittleemphasisonacademicsattheAbbeySchool.Instead,thegirlslearnedetiquetteandreceivedtraininginthepracticalartsthatwereconsideredimportanttowomanatthetime,includingsewingandembroidery.ThegirlswererecalledfromschoolinDecemberof1786,whenthefamilycouldnolongeraffordtheirtuition.Theirformalstudiesthusconcluded,thegirlsreturnedtoSteventontobegintheireducationinearnest.GeorgeAustenownedaconsiderablenumberofbooks,whichheplacedathischildren’sdisposal.Forthemostpart,thegirlsreadfiction.JanewassteepedinEnglishliterature,includingtheworksofWilliamShakespeare,JohnMilton,AlexanderPope,andSamuelJohnson.ShealsoadmiredthepoetryofWilliamCowper.Reading,andinparticularthereadingofcurrentfiction,wasbothasocialandpoliticalactivityduringAusten’sera.WhilepoliticalcommentarywasneverexplicitinAusten’swriting,hernovelsconfrontedtheseissues,suchaswomen’srighttoproperty,throughthelivesofhercharacters.

Althoughreadingwastheirprimaryformofeducation,thegirlscultivatedothertalents.Janelearnedtoplaypiano.Shealsolovedtodance.Cassandratookupdrawing.JaneAustenwasmostlytutoredathome,andirregularlyatschool,butshereceivedabroadereducationthanmanywomenofhertime.Thiswasagoodbasisforherlaterwriting.

2.JaneAusten’sLoveandMarriage

JaneAustenwrotesixnovelsinallherlife,mostofwhichdescribemarriage.Butinauthor’swholelifeof47years,hermarriagewascompletelyablank.Sheeverhadsweetandbitterlovestory.Theprocessconnectedcloselywiththeauthor’swritingPrideandPrejudice.Whenshewrotetheoriginalwork,thefirstimpressionofPrideandPrejudice,shewasonly21yearsold（thesameageasherfavoriteheroineElizabeth）,fellinlovewithThomasLefroy.AyounggraduateofTrinityCollege,Dublin,LefroywasinSteventontovisitrelativewhohappenedtobefriendsoftheAustens.WhenLefroy’sauntsensedhernephew’saffectionforJane,shefearedthatmarriagetotheyoungestdaughterofapoorchurchmanmightruinhiscareerinthelaw.SheinsistedthatheleavedSteventonimmediately,andthusputanendtoAusten’sfirstromance.

In1800,Austen’sfathersuddenlyresignedhispositioninthechurchandannouncedhewasmovingthefamilytothecityofBathinsouthwesternEngland.Austenwasreportedtohavefaintedwhenshereceivedthenews.Bath---builtbytheRomansasaspaaroundnaturalhotsprings---hadbecomeafashionableresortfortheEnglishgentry.Austenquicklyrecoveredfromtheinitialshockofthemove,and,forawhileatleast,enjoyedthecompanyofthefamily’snewcircleofsocialacquaintances.ThefollowingyearAustenembarkedonthesecondofherthreeill-fatedromances.WhileawayfromBathonavocation,Austenfellinlovewithayoungchurchman,whowasexpectedwouldproposemarriagetoher.Buttheyoungmandiedsuddenlyforsufferingdisease.In1802,shewas27yearsold（thesameageasCharlotteinthenovel）.Shemetaninheritorofapropertiedmanorwhomadeproposaltoher.Afteralongsleeplessnight,sherefusedhimdefinitelyonthesecondmorning.Whenshewas33in1808,shealmostmarriedmiddle-agedclergymanbutithadnoresult.TheauthorrewrotePrideandPrejudiceather35yearsoldandpublishedthenovelin1813.Afterthewriterexperiencedallofthese,shedescribedfourdifferentmarriagesandmarriagestatefromamaturewoman’spointofview;itshowedherownidealaboutmarriage.JaneAustenremainedunmarrieduntilshediedonJuly18th,1817inWinchester,Hampshire,England.

B.TheBackgroundoftheCharactersintheNovel

ThestoryofPrideandPrejudicetookplaceinthetimeoftheRegencyinBritain.Atthattime,BritainwasattheperiodoftransitionfromtheearlierstageofCapitalismtoCapitalistIndustrialization.PrideandPrejudicemainlytoldofthelovestorybetweenarichproudyoungmanDarcyandthebeautifulandintelligentElizabethBennet,oneofthedaughtersinBennet’sfamily.TherewerefivedaughtersintheBennetfamily.Sincethefamilyhadnomaleheir,thedaughterswouldlosetheirhomeandpropertytotheircousinMr.CollinswhenMr.Bennetdied.Forthisreason,thismatterthathowherdaughtersmarriedtherichwastobeMrs.Bennet’sgreatworry.

Meanwhile,thenoveldepictedasocietygovernedbyaclasssystemthatimposedunwrittenrulesonwhomaymarryorsocializewithwhom.Womeninearly19thcenturycountrylifecannotwork,andthepositionallottedtowomenwastoeconomicallydependuponmen.InPrideandPrejudice,JaneAustenreliedonthissocialbackgroundinthepositionofawomanandusedthenewvisualangletoobservetheloveandthemarriageinthatera.Inthenovel,JaneAustenmainlydepictedfourquitedifferentmarriages---JaneBennetandCharlesBingley,ElizabethBennetandFitzwilliamDarcy,CharlotteLucasandMr.Collins,LydiaBennetandGeorgeWickham.Bydepictingthesefourmarriages,JaneAustenexpressedherownattitudetowardsthemarriage---marriageshouldbebasedonlovebutmoney.Ⅱ.TheEmbodimentofFeminism

A.TheFeminismReflectedonLanguage

Languageisanimportantwindowthroughwhichonecanunderstandthecultureandsocietyofthepeople,becausepeople’ssocio-culturalbehaviorsandattitudesaswellasthoughtsarereflectedintheiruseofthelanguage.Thenovelcontainsalargearrayofconversationsbetweendifferentcharacters;theseconversationsareinkeepingwiththestylethatprevailedinthatperiod.Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledgedthatthebeginningsentence:

“Itisa