《纯真年代》和《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》中女性人物形象的对比分析 

A Comparative Analysis of Female Images in The Age of Innocence and Red Rose and White Rose

Abstract

By comparing the female images in the two feminist novels The Age of Innocence and Red Rose and White Rose, this paper reveals women’s social status and their self-awareness in China and America at the beginning of the 20th century. Based on the theoretical basis of existentialist feminism, this paper investigates the similarities and differences of female images between the two works. Further, it probes into the ways those images are characterized in the aspects of women’s personality, love, marriage, and reveals the socio-historic reasons underlying the different characterization of those female images in the two works.

Structurally, this paper is divided into four parts. The first part analyzes the similarities of and differences of female images between the two works. The second part compares different marriage and family values reflected by those female images. The third part attempts to find out the reasons for the similarities and differences of female images from education, the time backgrounds of both works and their authors. The fourth part puts forward feasible suggestions and inspirations for the development of modern females, namely, 1) Women should treat traditional morality dialectically; 2) Governments should strengthen policy support for social infrastructure that benefits women’s development; 3) Legal branches should improve legal mechanisms for the protection of women’s rights and interests.

Finally, this paper concludes that the female images in both works are tied to the status of “the others” because of their “immanence”. Therefore, modern women should go beyond “immanence” and establish their subjective status in the society without violating fine traditional morality. At the same time, this paper advocates modern society to improve the social infrastructure and to strengthen the legal protection of women’s rights to realize the real independence and liberty of them.

Key words: female image; existentialist feminism; view of marriage; patriarchal society