An Analysis of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations from the Perspective of the Queer Theory 酷儿理论视角下对于《远大前程》中郝薇香小姐的研究文献综述

 2021-10-24 15:29:15

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I.IntroductionGreat Expectations is a novel written by Charles Dickens, a 19th-century British realist writer, in his later years. The novel depicts the personal growth and development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens second novel, after David Copperfield, and the novel was first published as a serial in Dickens weekly periodical, All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. Dickens creative activities can be roughly divided into two periods. The pre-production period was from 1833 to 1850, and the post-production period was from 1850 to 1870. The post-production was the most important and brilliant period in Dickens career. Great Expectations belongs to the post-production. The novel takes the Victorian era after the first industrial revolution in Britain as a social background and deeply reflects the social and cultural values of that period. On the one hand, it shows the substantial growth of the national economy and the increasing social wealth, on the other hand, it shows the growing disparity between rich and poor and the decline in morality. (Hu, 2009)The novel embodies the authors unique novel writing techniques, including sophisticated plot structure and rich symbols. In the subject, the literary world generally pays attention to the tragic fate of Miss. Havisham. After the first industrial revolution in Britain, the old social-economic order was gradually disintegrated, and machines had replaced manual labor. Against the background of the rise of a new industrial civilization, Havisham was deeply oppressed by tradition and patriarchy as a member of a high society. She courageously pursued love but was abandoned on the night of her wedding. Eventually her personality became distorted and perverted, and she began a revenge aimed at hurting the emotions of men.Based on Queer Theory, this article will analyze Miss. Havishams subversion of traditional womens personality, behavior and her non-traditional heterosexual relationship with Vompeyson, explaining that the queer themes of denaturalizing stable gender identity, and overturning the binary oppositions between the masculine and the feminine under heterosexual hegemony. Miss. Havisham challenges the narrow definition of female identity and heterosexual relationships in a patriarchal society, thus becoming a queer that transcends traditional mainstream concepts. A series of her apostasy behaviors caused her to be isolated by society and her miserable fate.II.The significance of the studyThis article has pragmatic and academic significance. First, an outstanding critical realism novel that reflects the lives of women of an era will encourage women to pursue their own gender equality. It discusses patriarchal oppression and links feminism to fight for gender equality. Second, this article analyzes characters from the perspective of Queer Theory, which is conducive to a comprehensive understanding of novels and the theory. From the comparison between queer and mainstream cultural concepts, this article analyzes the fact that they are oppressed in a patriarchal society. Third, criticism of the narrowness of traditional mainstream culture can help people get rid of the restrictions of traditional ideas. The study of Queer Theory in this article will change the traditional concepts of society and reduce discrimination against marginal groups and gender.Therefore, with plentiful potentials of profound research significance of Great Expectations, this paper is conducive to comprehensibly helping other scholars study this novel and endowing Queer Theory with more practical connotations.III.Literature reviewQueer Theory is a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of queer studies and womens studies. It includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of queerness itself. Heavily influenced by the works of Lauren Berlant, Leo Bersani, Judith Butler, Lee Edelman, Jack Halberstam, David Halperin, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Queer Theory builds both upon feminist challenges to the idea that gender is part of the essential self and upon gay/lesbian studies close examination of the socially constructed nature of sexual acts and identities. Queer Theory examines the constitutive discourses of homosexuality developed in the last century in order to place queer in its historical context, and surveys contemporary arguments both for and against this latest terminology.Queer Theory is derived largely from post-structuralist theory, and deconstruction in particular. Starting in the 1970s, a range of authors brought deconstructionist critical approaches to bear on issues of sexual identity, and especially on the construction of a normative straight ideology. Queer theorists challenged the validity and consistency of heteronormative discourse, and focused to a large degree on non-heteronormative sexualities and sexual practices.Queer Theory is a multilayered, and rather complex, field of study. To assign a single-sentence definition to this theory would be incomplete as it would fail to touch on the various ways it is interpreted, applicable and used. In particular, Queer Theorys overreaching goal is to be sought out as a lens or tool to deconstruct the existing monolithic ideals of social norms and taxonomies; as well as, how these norms came into being and why. In addition, it analyzes the correlation between power distribution and identification while understanding the multifarious facets of oppression and privilege. It is vital to understand queer and Queer Theory as an applicable concept providing a framework to explore these issues rather than an identity. Queer is an inclusive umbrella term for those not only deemed as sexually deviant in relations to a social hegemony but also used to describe those who feel marginalized as a result of social practices and identity. It is a site of permanent becoming (Giffney, 2004).The term Queer Theory was introduced in 1990, with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Judith Butler, Adrienne Rich and Diana Fuss being among its foundational proponents. Annamarie Jagose wrote Queer Theory: An Introduction in 1997. Queer is slang for homosexual and worse, used for homophobic abuse. Recently, this term has been used as an umbrella term for a coalition of sexual identities that are culturally marginalized, and at other times, to create discourse surrounding the budding theoretical model that primarily arose through more traditional lesbian and gay studies. According to Jagose (1996), Queer focuses on mismatches between sex, gender and desire. For most, queer has prominently been associated with simply those who identify as lesbian and gay. Unknown to many, queer is in association with more than just gay and lesbian, but also cross-dressing, gender ambiguity and gender-corrective surgery.In addition, it is important to understand that Queer Theory is not predominantly about analyzing the binary of the homosexual and heterosexual. There is an abundance of identities in which Queer Theory not only recognizes but also breaks down in relation to other contributing factors like race, class, religion, etc.Research reports that the first important content of Queer Theory is to challenge the dichotomy of heterosexuality and homosexuality, and to challenge the normality of society. The so-called normality mainly refers to the heterosexual system and heterosexual hegemony. For academics and activists in the liberation movement, defining themselves as queer is to challenge all normalities and criticize heterosexual hegemony.The second important content of Queer Theory is to challenge the dichotomy between men and women, and to challenge all strict classifications. Its main critical goal is the dichotomy. Some thinkers refer to this dichotomy as a dichotomy prison, stating that it suppresses human freedom. Queer Theory consciously transcends the order of respect and inferiority of various gender types, and its central logic is to deconstruct the dichotomy.Queer Theory is a powerful and revolutionary theory, which ultimate goal is to create a new pattern of interpersonal relationships, a new lifestyle for human beings, and challenge all traditional values.In Great Expectations, Havisham was a simple little girl longing for love. After she was abandoned, none of her relatives and friends showed some sympathy to her or helped her through the difficult times. The beautiful wedding dress was faded, and the magnificent manor was closed. She changed from a beautiful aristocratic lady to a wax man like a zombie. She became an old woman whose heart was filled with revenge, and she finally became a pervert. This cruel crime is not accepted by common sense, and her paranoid character is against the traditional definition of a female in society. Havishams image and behavior will never accepted by patriarchal society, at the same time her image violates the typical image of a gentle and elegant lady in the 19th century, which breaks the single level of female identity and expresses a rich meaning of queer. Works CitedBeemyxu, B and Elisson, M. (eds.), Queer Studies, New York and London: New York University Press, 1996.Butler, J. Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal, 1988, 40(4): 519-531.Giffney, N. Denormatizing Queer Theory: More Than Lesbian and Gay Studies. Feminist Theory, 2004, (5): 73.Grace, R. Overbey, S. Charles Dickens Great Expectations: The Failed Redeemers and Fate of the Orphan. (Master dissertation) Liberty University, Virginia, 2013.Jagose, A. Queer Theory: An Introduction (Reprint. ed.). New York: New York University Press, 1996.Li, S, M. Enlightenment of Miss Havishams Destiny in Great Expectations. Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 2012,(11):87-88.Tang, W, S. 以郝薇香小姐为例. 四川文理学院学报, 2013, (4): 60-63.Li, Yinhe. [李银河], 酷儿理论面面观. 国外社会科学, 2002, (2): 23-24.Shi, Xianjin. [施娴婧], 男权社会中挣扎的女性灵魂论《远大前程》中郝薇香小姐的人物形象. 四川教育学院学报, 2007, (5): 54-56.

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