A Feministic Approach to Emma’s Character 从女权主义视角解读爱玛的性格特征文献综述

 2021-11-04 20:58:55

毕业论文课题相关文献综述

1.Introduction1.1 Research backgroundJane Austen is a famous British novelist who created a large number of valuable and excellent literary works for humankind (Copeland s artistic achievements, considered by many critics to be the best and successful work of hers. This novel, finally published by the author before her death, can be praised so highly largely due to its in-depth and comprehensive expression of the author's aesthetic interest and creative attitude.Austen was born in a middle -class parishs family. When she was a child, she had never entered any formal schools, but she still got the primary and broad education at home from her father as well as through her own hard work, which laid a solid foundation for her later literature composition. Austen started to write for family amusement when she was about twelve years old, which shows that she was indeed a talented writer. Her writing style was realistic and critical. In the 18th and 19th centuries, women's status was very low, only relying on men through marriage. Under this condition, Austen challenged the authority of society and began to write novels about female consciousness, Emma in particular (Khan,2006). Just as the British literary critic Kettle (2003) once commented that Emma was the greatest and most representative work of Austen' s.Feminism refers to a wide range of social theory and political movement, which is mainly based on women' s experience and motivation, to end sexism, sexual exploitation, sexual discrimination and sexual oppression and promote the sexual class equality(Robbins, 2000). Feminism can be divided into four major schools: liberal feminism, radical feminism, social feminism and psychoanalytic feminism (Morris, 1993). Radical feminism belongs to the western modern feminism, which came into being from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960s. At that time, the world experienced two world wars, the colonial system was disintegrated, and various new contradictions came into being in this turbulent period. Shulamith Firestone (1989) is a representative of sexual politics, who holds that the root of women's dependent status lies in the physiological basis of human beings. However, Monnique Wittig (1980), a French radical feminist, believes that gender differences are not naturally formed, but shaped by social culture. In 1970, both Germaine Greers (1970) The female Eunuch and Kate Milletts (1970) Sexual Politics emphasized that sex is politics, and expresses criticism on male rights. The field of sex and body is a field of great concern for radical feminism. The thesis will analyze Emma's character and its causes within the framework of radical feminist theory so that readers can have a deeper understanding of Emmas character and behavioral trait.1.2 Literature reviewA large number of scholars have commented on the literary value of Emma in many aspects, such as Austen's writing techniques and Emma's character. For instance, Yang (2011) contends that although she is not a perfect image, Emma's pursuit of freedom and equality in marriage and positive progress in life are precious in that era. Li Liu (2014) study Austen's ironic writing style from Emma's view of marriage. Both Huang (2015) and Dai (2016) consider from the perspective of narratology the ironic language in Emma based on character construction and plot development. From the perspective of Feminism, Fulk (2003) analyzes the formation and content of feminism in Emma based on the historical background of Britain in the 19th century and the school education of sexism. From the background of the development of English literature, Harbus (2011) explores the germination of feminist consciousness in Emma and points out her independent and equal outlook on life. Zhuang (2012) suggests Emma is a typical feminist novel, which can most profoundly reflect Jane Austen' s female consciousness. The feminist point of view is reflected in Emma's freedom consciousness and in her rebellion against the traditional female image. By studying the family status and social status of British women from 18th to 19th century, Cui Zhang (2014) point out Jane Austen's feminist thought on equal and independent marriage and love. What is more, Shao (2017) comparesEmma with another traditional character who is willing to be arranged by patriarchal elders, highlighting her optimism and firmness, and her courage to challenge the backward patriarchy. Shang (2019) discusses the gradual improvement and perfection of Emmas feministic consciousness in different stages of growth. Most of the previous studies on the feminism in Emma are only about Emma's feminist consciousness, but there is little research that combines feminism with the characterization of Emma. Therefore, this research will explore Emma's positive and negative character from the perspective of radical feminism. 1.3 Need of the studyFirst of all, this thesis can provide a specific example for the study of Emma's character in Emma. In the second place, feminist consciousness is the awakening of the mind, and it is also of great significance to the equality and harmony of modern women' s life. The present study on Emma's firmness in love and pursuit of equality between men and women in marriage reflect her progressive feministic thought and can encourage modern women to insist on striving for their own happiness and mutual respect in marriage. At last, the analysis of Emmas character from the perspective of feminism can expand the research perspective of Emma.To sum up, through the study of Emmas character in a feministic approach, it is hoped that readers can respect women more and uphold the correct values of equality between men and women. In addition, the study will inspire scholars to explore Emma's literary and artistic values from more perspectives.2.The Theory on Radical Feminism2.1 DefinitionRadical feminism emphasizes women' s equal rights with men in the private field such as independence and freedom in family and sex. The ideological model of radical feminism is mainly embodied in the work Sexual Politics by Kate Millet, an American writer. Radical feminists are mostly young middle-class women with higher education, and they are strongly and distinctly opposed to the patriarchal society. These feminists think that the personal problems in family or economy are not individual reasons, but the embodiment of gender injustice in the whole society. Besides, radical feminism emphasizes the equality and freedom of men and women in marriage and sex.2.2 Origin and Development From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960s, with the world experiencing two world wars and the colonial system collapsing, radical feminism originated in the 1960s. The main theoretical foundation of radical feiminism is the theory of patriarchy, and Millet was the first one who introduced the concept in the second chapter of Sexual Politics (1970), which became the starting point of feminist theory's extensive use. Radical feminism demands the liberation of women in sex. Feminism in this period, especially the radical demand for sexual liberation, had a great impact on a number of feminist writers. In the late 1970s, feminism began to change its view that the low level of women' s rights was essentially caused by the connection between rights and economy, and challenged traditional rights and political concepts. Sutter (1976) once said that this is a struggle of all women against all men, and every woman who participates in this campaign can benefit from it; this is a struggle of all women against all men, and every woman who participates in this campaign can benefit from it.In the 1980s, a lot of post-modernism problems and new thoughts emerge, post-modern feminism also follows the historical trend to replace the radicalism of modern feminism. Butler (1980) advocated exploring the relationship between men and women with the constraints of philosophy and rules. As a result, radical feminism gradually disappeared after the 1980s.2.3 Important topics in racial feminism 2.3.1 Sexual politicsRadical feminists believe that sexual politics refers to men's oppression of women's social status, which is a kind of class oppression. Actually, the current social system is sexual class system. Women's inequality in family and marriage is not only the unfair treatment of individuals, but also the gender discrimination of the whole society and politics (De Beauvoir, 1949). In order to eliminate the personality difference, racial feminists argue it is of importance to solve the role division of men and women on the basis of physiology. Radical feminists have challenged traditional political forces, claiming that the power of patriarchy has transcended other formal forces of social operation, which has made the country a tool for patriarchy to oppress women. In addition, they advocate that starting from the family, the center of social structure, people should take the lead in liberating women. 2.3.2 Criticism of patriarchyRadical feminists point out that the patriarchal system is the root of women's oppression. Germaine Greers The female Eunuch (1970) and Kate Milletts Sexual Politics (1970)clearly emphasize that sex is politics, and the patriarchy rationalizes the dominant relationship between men and women by exaggerating the physiological differences between them. In their works, the two representatives clearly elaborated the oppression and exploitation of women under the patriarchy, and strongly advocated the overthrow of this unequal gender system (Johnson, 1988). For example, some famous writers spread the consciousness of equality between men and women to people through writing literary works.2.3.3 Gender role The gender role advocated by radical feminists refers to the equal division of labor between men and women in physiology and society, and there is no phenomenon that men oppress women (Tarrant, 2006). Men earn money to support their families in the society, while women do housework at home and take care of the elderly and children. There is a neutral and harmonious relationship between men and women. The spread of this progressive role thought made women at that time realize the importance of family in social status.References Austen, J. (1981). Emma. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Copeland, E. Macmast, J. (2010). The Cambridge companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.De Beauvoir, S. (1949). The second sex. England: Penguin. Greer, G. (1970). The female Eunuch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Firestone, S. (1970). The dialectic of sex. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Fulk, M. (2003). Feminist and queer values in the southern Christian classroom: the case of Jane Austens Emma, Feminist teacher, 10, 50-52.Harbus, A. (2011). Reading embodied consciousness in Emma, studies in English literature, 51, 765-782.Johnson, C.(1988). Jane Austen: women, politics and the novel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Khan, M. (2006). Life and works of Jane Austen.England: Raj Publishing House.Millet, K. (1970). Sexual politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Morris, P. (1993). Literature and feminism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Robbins, M. (2000). Literature feminism. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd.Tarrant, S. (2006). When sex became gender. New York: Golden Press.步雅芸（2006），《爱玛》一部典型的女性成长。

杭州：浙江大学出版社。

崔丽、张瑜珊（2014），从《爱玛》解析简奥斯汀的婚姻家庭观。

《语文建设》，6：27-28。

代博君（2016），奥斯汀小说《爱玛》的反讽特色。

《语文建设》，14：63-64。

黄军利（2015），从叙事学角度探析《爱玛》的反讽语言。

《语文建设》，20：54-55。

李晓红、刘晓华（2014），解读《爱玛》中的反讽艺术。

《语文建设》，3：30-31。

剩余内容已隐藏，您需要先支付 10元 才能查看该篇文章全部内容！立即支付

以上是毕业论文文献综述，课题毕业论文、任务书、外文翻译、程序设计、图纸设计等资料可联系客服协助查找。

您可能感兴趣的文章