Abstract

Widely acknowledged as the most productive dramatist since Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw has created the famous work, Mrs. Warren Profession, which is still worth studying until now. Numerous scholars at home and abroad have conducted a variety of researches over the play. The thesis is aimed at studying two major characters (Mrs. Warren and Vivie) and finding their similarities and differences from the perspective of feminism to enrich the investigation of Shaw’s drama Mrs. Warren’s Profession.
On one hand, the two characters in this play share some similarities. They have the same tragic destiny: both of them are victims of the-male dominated society. Moreover, they are courageous enough to challenge the evil society. On the other hand, differences are also found between two characters, including living environment, appearance, and attitude toward marriage. Mrs. Warren has a terrible living environment, dresses like a fairy lady but considers marriage as a tool to alter her social status while Vivie has a good living environment, dresses like a man but pursues pure love. The thesis has an analysis of two major characters’ similarities and differences in order to mirror their spirits of rebellion toward the male-centered society, and the hypocrisy of Victorian era.
A feminist interpretation can enlighten scholars’ studies of Mrs. Warren’s Profession from a new research perspective, help readers comprehend literary attainments of Shaw as a language master, and provide numerous inspirations of feministic thoughts for modern women.

Key words: Mrs. Warren’s Profession   feminist theory    similarities    differences

摘要

萧伯纳是继莎士比亚之后英国又一位伟大的戏剧家。他创作了一部知名的作品---戏剧《华伦夫人的职业》，至今仍有独特的研究价值。国内外众多的学者从多个角度对该作品进行了广泛的研究。本文旨在结合女权主义理论，探讨萧伯纳在《华伦夫人的职业》中塑造的两位人物形象（华伦夫人与薇薇），找出她们之间的共同点与差异。希望以此来丰富对《华伦夫人的职业》这部戏剧的研究。
一方面，两位人物有一些共同点：她们的命运都很悲惨---华伦夫人与薇薇都是父权制社会的受害者；她们对于当时的社会都有着一种反叛精神。另一方面，本文也试着找出两位人物的不同点，主要表现在她们的成长环境、穿衣风格、言行举止和对于婚姻的态度上。华伦夫人成长环境恶劣，举止优雅，却将婚姻看作改变自己社会地位的工具。薇薇成长环境优越，言行“粗鲁”，却追寻纯粹的爱情与婚姻。本文从女权主义视角对比分析剧中两位人物反应了在男权社会女性的反叛精神，及维多利亚时代的伪善风尚最大的挑战。 
最后，作者希望该论文能够启发学者们从新的角度研究《华伦夫人的职业》，帮助读者领略语言大师萧伯纳的文学风采，并能为现代女性在追求独立自我的道路上点燃一盏启明灯。

关键词：《华伦夫人的职业》   女权主义理论  相同点  不同点