文學(xué)專業(yè)英語畢業(yè)論文

1、<p>　　Wilde’s Outlook on Women in Lady Windermere’s Fan</p><p><b>　　內(nèi) 容 摘 要</b></p><p>　　奧斯卡.王爾德(Oscar Wilde, 1854 - 1900)是19世紀(jì)末英國唯美主義的著名代表作家。他無論在詩歌、童話、散文、議論文、小說,還是在戲劇的創(chuàng)作中都給后人留下

2、了雋永的佳作。他“為藝術(shù)而藝術(shù)”的主張不僅對19世紀(jì)末歐洲文學(xué)產(chǎn)生了巨大的影響,而且對后來現(xiàn)代派的表現(xiàn)主義、超現(xiàn)實主義和存在主義的形成也有不可忽視的作用。</p><p>　　本文以女性主義角度分析《溫德米爾夫人的扇子》重的兩位女性主人公形象——溫德米爾夫人和厄林夫人，并以此分析王爾德的女性觀。</p><p>　　本文共包括引言、正文和結(jié)論三部分。引言簡單介紹了《溫德米爾夫人的扇子》的故

3、事梗概和該作品的研究現(xiàn)狀。正文分為三章：第一章對劇中兩位女性形象——溫德米爾夫人和厄林夫人進(jìn)行詳細(xì)的分析。第二章在之前分析的基礎(chǔ)上得出王爾德獨具一格的女性觀。第三章分析了王爾德女性觀的成因。結(jié)論部分指出王爾德作品中的女性具有典型的特質(zhì)，并對王爾德的女性觀進(jìn)行簡要的總結(jié)</p><p><b>　　關(guān) 鍵 詞</b></p><p>　　《溫德米爾夫人的扇子》；王爾德

4、；女性主義；女性觀</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1890) is Britain’s most famous aesthete writer in 19th century. He has left various excellent works, whether in his po

5、ets, fairy tales, arguments, prose, novel or creation of drama. His idea of “art for art’s sake” has not only make a huge impact to European literature in late 19th century, but also make a great effect to later expressi

6、onism, surrealism and existentialism. </p><p>　　This thesis departs from a different perspective to analyze two female images, summarizes Oscar Wilde’s unique outlook.</p><p>　　This thesis consi

7、sts 3 sections: The introduction part provides a brief introduction to Oscar Wilde, the main plot of Lady Windermere’s Fan，and the studies on Oscar Wilde’s comedies at home and abroad. In part two, there is mainly the an

8、alysis of the two female images in the play: Lady Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne. Chapter Three puts forward Wilde’s outlook on women based on the analysis ahead. In the 4th part, this thesis aims to analyze the factors th

9、at contribute to form Wilde’s out on women.</p><p>　　Key words: Lady Windermere’s Fan; Oscar Wilde; feminism；outlooks on female</p><p>　　Acknowledgements</p><p>　　I am very grateful

10、 to all those people who have, directly and indirectly, contributed to the genesis of this thesis.</p><p>　　First and foremost, my gratitude should goes to my supervisor, Wang Feihong, for her encouragement

11、and constant guidance in writing this thesis. If it were not for her help, this article would not be possible and better. </p><p>　　I am also greatly indebted to my friends and classmates. This thesis would

12、not be completed so smoothly without their constant care, support and encouragement during my writing process.</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　Wilde’s Outlook on Women in Lady Wind

13、ermere’s Fan</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　As one of the most famous writers in Irish and English literature, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and his works have been widely discussed and studied, for b

14、oth his private life and his literary contributions. With the witty paradoxes and epigrams in dialogues, his four social comedies are generally known as his greatest accomplishments. However, due to his tendency of homos

15、exuality, the career of Oscar Wilde was cut short; and this has led to his miserable downfall of reputation and imprisonment.</p><p>　　Lady Windemere`s Fan tells a simple story：Lord and Lady Windermere decid

16、ed to throw a party to celebrate Lady Windermere`s birthday. When Lady Windermere heard that her husband had given a large sum of money to a notorious woman (Mrs. Erlynne) and her husband insisted that she invite the not

17、orious Mrs. Erlynne (Lady Windermere`s mother in fact) to the party, she felt so angry that she misunderstood her husband`s providing Mrs. Erlynne to get back to higher society and doubted that her husband mi</p>

18、<p>　　Studies on Wilde's comedies abroad can be divided into three stages. In the first stage (1892-1899), critics about Wilde's comedies came to appear in English newspapers, representing opinions of the ag

19、e. In the second stage (1900-1969), critics’ attention has been paid on the text, and comparative studies increased a lot, such as The Theatre of Oscar Wilde by Archibald Henderson (1970) and Shaw, Wilde and the Revival

20、of the comedies of Manners by J. H. K. Lockhart (1968). Among those critics, Ri</p><p>　　Wilde’s social comedies were translated into Chinese early in 1915 and the researches on Wilde’s comedies started in 1

21、920s.The study of Wilde’s comedies has reached its climax since 1980s which is characterized by objectively analyses the artistic features and ideological implications; research from an aesthetical perspective; and imple

22、menting comparative approaches. The following are main articles on Wilde’s comedies: The Wonderful Use of a Fan by Fan Tongwei (1983), A Book Review on Lady Winde</p><p>　　Many studies concerning the moral e

23、thics, aestheticism and “cynics” have been conducted to analyze Lady Windermere’s Fan; however, few of the researchers have analyzed the play through the perspective of feminism. This thesis departs from a different pers

24、pective to analyze two female images, and summarizes Oscar Wilde’s unique outlook on women through sharp contraction.</p><p>　　Good Woman and Bad Woman</p><p>　　Lady Windermere’s Fan, the first

25、of Oscar Wilde’s four social comedies, is one comedy which has been introduced to and well received by Chinese readers. In 1981, Oscar Wilde created Lady Windermere’s Fan, originally called A Good Woman, which means “the

26、 story of a good woman”, however, the real purpose of his writing this play is to subvert the traditional moral ideas that “Good woman” bears in mind. In this thesis, two sharp contrasting female images are to be analyze

27、d, namely the “good woman” </p><p>　　1.1 Good Woman: Lady Windermere</p><p>　　Lady Windermere is well accepted as a good woman and a decent character on behalf of higher society. She is young, b

28、eautiful and has received a “strict” education at an early age. Her upbring enables to bear in mind “what the world is forgetting, the difference that there is between what is right and what is wrong”, and she will never

29、 make concessions to or comprise with any behaviours violating social customs. </p><p>　　Lord Windermere firmly insisted that she invite Mrs. Erlynne to the ball, which is thrown to celebrate lady Windermere

30、’s 20th birthday.However, she declined regardless of lord windermere’s repeated appealing.She then arrogantly said to Lord Windermere “not to mention this woman to me in the same breath. It is an error of taste.”</p&g

31、t;<p>　　What’s more, in act three, she had even condemned her mother, Mrs. Erlynne, without knowing her identity. She said to Mrs. Erlynne ” Women like you have no hearts. Heart is not in you. You are bought and

32、 sold.” Those words revealed lady Windermere’s moral superiority as a good woman and her overconfidence on knowing the difference between what is good and evil. </p><p>　　Even such a woman with firm moral id

33、eas could have easily been gossiped down .She was shcoked by Lord Darlington’s inducing words and decided to elope with him. If it were not for Mrs. Erlynne’s sacfarcing to help her get rid of the dangerous situation at

34、the very verge of losing her name, she would be expelled by higher society and acqiure the name of “bad woman”. Till now, the so-called moral ideas hold by the term “good woman” had been completely subverted.</p>

35、<p>　　1.2 Bad Woman: Mrs. Erlynne</p><p>　　Mrs. Erlynne, another main character in this play, represents the “bad woman” in society. She’s got charming in appearance, “bright and transparent” in mind, a

36、nd enjoys a good way of dealing with entertainments. She is also a social cynic. However, when she was young, she abandoned her husband and daughter due to an impulse, eloped with her lover, but later she was abandoned a

37、nd her infamous scandals make her the representative of a “bad woman”.</p><p>　　However, it is this woman, who has been despised as a “shameless woman” by Lady Windermere, which had sacrificed to save lady W

38、indermere’s name at that pivotal moment. Mrs. Erylnne, thus lost her restored name again and wasted her chance back into higher society again, ended up abroad with Augustus.</p><p>　　With her great maternal

39、love and female wits, Mrs. Erlynne shows us that those who once were the “bad woman” may not always be the same. And “bad woman” also sustains the rights to pursue happiness and better life. These all posed a severe chal

40、lenge to hypocritical moral ideas of higher society.</p><p>　　Through the comparison between Mrs. Erlynne and Lady Windermere, it can be drawn that there is no definite differences between “bad woman” and “g

41、ood woman”, for even the most “infamous woman” could save others at her own expense; and the recognized “good woman” could make mistakes out of impulse.</p><p>　　2. Wilde’s Outlook on Women</p><p&

42、gt;　　2.1 Eliminating Moral Shackles on Women</p><p>　　In Victorian Age, Protestism dominates every aspect of social lives. And according to the doctrine of Protestantism, the involvement of sex in conversati

43、ons is strictly prohibited. At that time, women`s chastity is above anything else and it`s immoral to have sex before marriage. They (males)strongly urged that woman, especially the young, should resist any inner needs o

44、r exterior temptation as possible as they can and keep chastity. When a woman successfully resisted the temptations, she would </p><p>　　Mrs. Erlynne in this play belongs to one of those so-called fallen wom

45、en. However, when Lord Windermere began to condemn Mrs. Erlynne, Lady Windermere retorted “What are called good women may have terrible things in them, mad moods of recklessness, assertion, jealousy, sin. Bad women, as

46、they are termed, may have in them sorrow, repentance, pity, sacrifice” Isn’t this a bitter irony to women’s moral values in Victorian Age? </p><p>　　Wilde probed into traditional outlook on women in Victoria

47、n Age, exposed and denounced the harsh bonds constrained to women’s thoughts and behaviors by social circumstances, satirized and criticized hypocritical and foolish moral system of that time, thus dissolved some prejudi

48、ces and harsh shackles tied to women at a certain degree.</p><p>　　2.2 Emphasizing the Family Roles of Women</p><p>　　Abandoning her husband and daughter, Mrs. Erlynne first appeared as an evil

49、woman scorned by the society. However, she outshone all of her contemporaries of that society, for she did not submit to the values and mores of "self-sacrificing" in the Victorian age. When Lord Windermere rep

50、roached her, she said: "I suppose, Windermere, you would like me to retire into a convent or become a hospital nurse, or something of that kind, as people do in silly modern novels. That is stupid of you, Arthur; i&

51、lt;/p><p>　　The life of women in Victorian age was generally centered on family. Women were seen as temples of love and purity and so, could not be used for physical exertion or pleasurable sex. The only role o

52、f women in the Victorian era was to get married and look after the homely chores. The young ladies were doomed thoroughly to get married and had to be innocent, virtuous, biddable, and dutiful. The gentlewomen made sure

53、that the home was a place of solace and comfort for the husband and children, free</p><p>　　Lady Windermere who appeared as a "good wife and mother" actually was on the verge of eloping with the ma

54、n who said he loved her. Ironically, Mrs. Erlynne named as "a fallen woman" made no efforts to sacrifice everything in order to save her daughter's reputation. When Lady Windermere nearly gave herself away

55、by the fan, it was her self-sacrificing and desperate mother--- Mrs. Erlynne who stood out to</p><p>　　Mrs. Erlynne said: “…I feel a passion awakening within me that I never felt before...How can I save her?

56、 How can I save my child?" (Wilde 510) We may see her as the type of adventuress, blackmailing Lord Windermere to gain entrance and position in high society. Yet, it was surprising to find out that she still preserv

57、ed the goodness in her deep heart after such a long period of struggle in this society. When they were trapped together in Darlington's rooms by the men returning from their club sh</p><p>　　In order to

58、live in a ruthless world, one had no choice but to be heartless especially for a woman like Mrs. Erlynne. Being despised and scorned, Mrs. Erlynne still kept a kind heart and a concerned nature: she begged her son-in-law

59、: "Let you wife cherish the memory of this dead, stainless mother...I thought I have no heart. I find I have, and a heart doesn't suit me, Windermere" (Wilde 527). That Lady Windermere was calculating was t

60、rue, but for a definite purpose. She acted to safeguard the fu</p><p>　　2.3 Subverting women’s gender roles</p><p>　　It is difficult to find a clear-cut difference between the female and male ch

61、aracters in Wilde’s writings. “In this regard, Wilde was in line with the feminists of the late nineteenth century. They argued that gender was not born with like sex.” Female characters are featured with their clear sel

62、f-consciousness. They express themselves directly without hesitation. More often than not, woman characters’ wit and tact always dwarf men.</p><p>　　In Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), Mrs. Erlynne---a fallen w

63、oman who was bitterly despised and scorned by Victorian society was characterized by her unconventionality, courage and goodness. She was not willing in consistent with the</p><p>　　set role for women of tha

64、t age but took her own course to combat the oppression from patriarchal society; she sacrificed everything to save her daughter’s name when Lady Windermere planned to elope with another man.</p><p>　　Like ot

65、her female characters, Mrs. Erlynne was manly, witty and courageous in Wilde's creations. She was a female who could live in the patriarchal society without males' support thanks to her intellect and courage. It

66、seems that Mrs. Erlynne was powerful evidence against the conception of women's inferiority and subordination to men.</p><p>　　3. The Formation of Wilde’s Outlook on Women</p><p>　　Generally

67、 speaking，there are three mainly reasons amount to the formation of Wilde’s unique outlook on women, namely social circumstances, family influences and personal preferences.</p><p>　　3.1 Social Circumstances

68、</p><p>　　First of all, the rise of feminist movement in the latter half of 19th century contributes a great deal to Wilde`s outlook on women.</p><p>　　In 1837when Queen Victoria came to the thr

69、one, married women had no property rights, not even the proceeds of their own earnings. They had no rights to custody of their own children and were excluded from universities and professions</p><p>　　In thi

70、s period, sexual inequality in politics, economic life, education and social positions still prevailed; women were still regarded as second-class citizens:</p><p>　　(1) Man for the field and woman for the he

71、arth;</p><p>　　(2) Man for the sword and woman for the needle;</p><p>　　(3) Man with the head and woman with the heart;</p><p>　　(4) Man to command and woman to obey</p><

72、p>　　The explosive growth of industry, especially the textile industry, brought hundreds of thousands of women into factory jobs. Factory work presented an increasing challenge to the conventional ideas of women and op

73、ened up new and wide spheres for women. Women now were able to walk out of the home, to share part of the responsibility of men and help support the family, and at the same time, were entering into social services. A fem

74、inist movement started, fighting for women`s equality and freedom, </p><p>　　Feminist movement is also known as the Emancipation of Women. It began in the Victorian Age, and this age has seen a change of wom

75、en`s role developing from “self-sacrifice” to “self-awareness”. Women with advanced ideas were not satisfied to play the role of “angel in the house”, so they set out to explore the access to self-development and self-ex

76、pression, patience, obedience, and tolerance were traditional feminine virtues highly praised by the whole society in the Victorian Age.</p><p>　　The final goal of feminist movement was to gain political rig

77、hts, and feminists turn to literature for help. Then in this historical context, many female writers that pay attention to women have emerged, and there were lso many male writers like Wilde that hold advanced ideas on w

78、omen, use their literary works and actual action to concern and support the feminist movement</p><p>　　From 1887to 1889 Wilde worked as an editor of the monthly journal the Woman’s World, which gave him the

79、opportunity for direct engagement in the arena of sexual politics. This gives him a deep understanding and insight into women.</p><p>　　3.2 Family influences</p><p>　　3.2.1 Wilde`s mother, Lady

80、Wilde</p><p>　　Lady Wilde was the most important woman in Wilde`s life, without her, Oscar Wilde would not exist. Lady Wilde shaped Wilde in every aspect, from his talking stye, his walking style and even hi

81、s religious style. Oscar Wilde shared a much stronger bond with his mother-Mrs. Wilde, though he respected his father deeply. Lady Wilde and her son Oscar Wilde were more alike and intimate.</p><p>　　She was

82、 an early advocate of women`s rights, and campaigned for better education for women. She input her zeal for nationalism and determination to her son. She was also a passionate feminist who declared in her essay on ”The B

83、ondage of women” that ”We have now traced the history of women from Paradise to the</p><p>　　Nineteenth century, and have heard nothing through the long roll of the age but the clank of their fetters. Lady W

84、ilde, socialist ladies. To break the fetters of women was as urgent as to set Ireland free from the bondage of England despotism.</p><p>　　It can be clear seen that Wilde’ mother bears the conscious of a fem

85、inist, and her feminism impacted Wilde who worshiped his mother intensely. She not only gave Wilde the Irish’s patriotic enthusiasm, but also enlightened him the feminism which was advanced in that time.</p><p

86、>　　3.2.2Wilde’s Wife, Constance </p><p>　　Though being silent most of the times for her amiable nature And shyness, that didn.t mean she was not capable of being alive mentally. She mastered in French and

87、 Italian, and learned German .Being always a good company, a earing wife and a tender mother, Constance did all her best to understood tolerate her husband and protect the children. She provided Wilde with a warm shelter

88、 and happy family life for which Wilde would always be grateful. If there were angels in the world, Constance was sure</p><p>　　Constance was not only intelligent and beautiful, but also accepted the advance

89、d feminism. After marriage, she was active in the feminist movement, this making Wilde owned a more comprehensive understanding of feminism and the up surging feminism movement. She also helped Wilde formed his view abou

90、t women.</p><p>　　3.3 Homosexual Tendency</p><p>　　As the most famous gay of the nineteenth century, Wilde offered a more "objective" observation of women then. As a man who did not lo

91、ve woman as a sexual partner, Wilde tended to examine women's role socially rather than domestically.</p><p>　　Due to his homosexual tendency，unlike the majority of his contemporaries, Oscar Wilde did no

92、t show his disgust for women; on the contrary, he admired the intelligence of women as he adored their beauty.</p><p>　　Looking women from the third perspective, women in Wilde’s eyes are neither equal to th

93、at in other men’s eyes, nor similar to that in women’s eyes. To discover the in-between elements or the "third space" in Wilde as well as his creation is likely the best way to understand of him and his works.&

94、lt;/p><p>　　In addition, in Wilde’s several dramas, he shaped the female character with male’s temperament to illustrate the ideal women in his eye: intellectuality, independence, and rebellion. Furthermore, he

95、 shaped the male character with female temperament to highlight his irony to the main stream society and his attack to the masculine’s system. In his works, the female possessed male’s temperament. In Wilde's creatio

96、n, women were endowed with men's qualities, being strong, independent and rebellious t</p><p>　　However, by blurring the clear distinction between man and woman, Wilde tried his best to attack the domina

97、nt culture and presented the readers his in-between observation of women. In Wilde's creations, women started to realize that to be an ideal of feminine behavior was not the self-sacrifice but the self-development. O

98、scar Wilde explored the desire for a wider outlook that was rising in the minds of all women towards the end of the Victorian age.</p><p>　　Conclusion</p><p>　　According to the analysis and comp

99、arisons above, one can easily recognize that women in Wilde’s works bear certain personal traits and will of freedom. The play somewhat reflects not only the awakened self-consciousness of women, and the living condition

100、s of individual women reflected by male’s sense of crisis bears distinctive features of Oscar Wilde. From his own perspective, Wilde shows his time and later readers a group of new women, women that eagerly pursue the fe