Abstract

Family is the quintessential institution of a nation, providing both biological and social continuity as they simultaneously shape, and are shaped by, the larger society. Conceptions of marriage and families fall into the catalogue of the core cultural values, which play an important role in behaviors of family members. Desperate Housewives is one of the typical television series, which reflects lives of middle class families in America. This television series describe the married lives of four housewives. We can analyze their conceptions of marriage and family through their languages and behaviors.
In this paper, the author elaborates American women’s conceptions of marriage and family by focusing on the languages and behaviors of the housewives in this television series. Chapter one introduces Desperate Housewives and conceptions of marriage and family. Chapter two focuses on the housewives—Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van De Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, analyzing their conceptions of marriage and family revealed by their languages, thoughts and behaviors. Chapter three explores the factors shaping American women’s conceptions of marriage and family, including American history, American belief and American government. Chapter four expounds the influences on American family structures, covering nuclear families, single parent families, DINK families and other family households.

Key words: Desperate Housewives; American women; conceptions of marriage and family

摘  要

家庭是一个国家最典型的机构，体现生物性和社会性的连续性，因为家庭影响社会的同时，也受社会的影响。婚姻家庭观属于核心文化价值观的范畴, 它对家庭成员的行为产生重要的影响。《绝望的主妇》是一部典型的反映美国中产阶级生活的电视剧。该剧描述了四位家庭主妇的婚后生活。通过主妇们的言行，我们可以分析出他们的婚姻家庭观。
作者在本论文中着重通过这部电视剧中主妇们的言行来分析美国女性的婚姻家庭观。论文第一章介绍《绝望的主妇》及婚姻家庭观的概念；第二章通过剧中主妇苏珊.梅尔，丽奈特斯加沃，布丽范德坎普，加布丽尔索利斯的语言，思想，行为来分析她们的婚姻家庭观；第三章分析影响美国女性婚姻家庭观的因素，包括美国历史，美国人的信仰和美国政府；第四部分析美国的女性的婚姻家庭观对美国家庭结构产生的影响，包括核心家庭，单亲家庭，丁克家庭和其他的家庭结构。

关键词：《绝望的主妇》；美国女性；婚姻家庭观