A Feminist Analysis of the Image of Tess文献综述

 2022-08-15 10:48:05

Literature Review

Feminism

For quite a long time in the history, women in western countries were restricted to domesticity, and they usually had a rather low social status. Feminism, originated in France, is the belief of equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism became widespread through a number of feminist campaigns and movements in the 19th century, and later became the basis of feminist literary criticism.

Feminist critics explored the evidence of womenrsquo;s oppression and condition in literary works. Their research covered a wide range of fields, including political, psychological, social and economic aspects. Zhang Cuiping summarized Julia Kristevarsquo;s idea on the development of feminist theory: “The development of theory of the feminism has about three stages: first, it lays emphasis on equality of the sexes; then, on differences of the sexes; and the last, it advocates that the theory of the male sex can be disintegrated by itself” (5). Besides, this critical approach has several types: Marxist feminism, liberal feminism, radical feminism and postmodern feminism. All these types have something in common: they analyze literary works to find out the patriarchal power inflicted upon females and call for equal rights between men and women.

Researches both at Home and Abroad

Some critics hold that this book reflects Hardyrsquo;s ideology of fatalism. In their opinion, a personrsquo;s fate is predetermined by some supernatural forces. In this book, there are many coincidences which throw Tess into the abyss of disaster. They hold the pessimistic view that no matter how Tess struggles, she is doomed to fail. Knickerbocker believes that “the failure of the human struggle against the blind, inevitable force of destiny is the theme of the later novels of Hardy” (322).

Some critics focus on the conflict between nature and modern society. They hold that the overwhelming trend of industrialization radically changed the relations of the society as manual labor is taken placed by machines, thus putting Tess (the peasantry) at a rather inferior state. Arnold Kettle argues that “Tess Durbeyfield stands for an ancient, preindustrial order destroyed by the machine” (232). James Hazen points out the “antagonism between nature and civilization” and “contradiction between natural law and social law” (793).

Feminist critics regard Hardy as a forerunner of “New Women” fiction in the patriarchal society. They argue that oppressions on Tess are ubiquitous: her economic status, her marriage, her status in family, her sexual desire and her working condition. John Goode thinks that some scenes in this book are “not about lsquo;naturersquo; at all, but the way in which Tessrsquo;s subjectivity is constructed by the patriarchal hegemony that calls it into being” (115). Nafiseh Salman Saleh and Pyeaam Abbasi drew a distinction between Hardyrsquo;s view of a “Fallen Woman” and the Victorianrsquo;s. In their perspective, women in the Victorian Era were “restricted within the chains of domestic sphere” with no sexual rights—Victorianrsquo;s ideals of feminism are to blame for Tessrsquo;s tragedy (89). Though Tess has long been defined as an oppressed miserable woman who yields to her fate, Rosemarie Morgan does not consider Tess as a passive victim. Rather, she argues that Tess “embodies a fierce impulse to self-determination against daunting, and ultimately insurmountable, odds” (89). Similarly, Sally Mitchell views Tess as a pure woman despite “some outside force—the husband, the seducer, the economic system, conventional prudery” (13).

In China, relevant researches cover a wide range: Hardyrsquo;s tragic thought, images of the characters, theme, as well as feminist and religious aspects and so on. Most of them reach a consensus that the tragedy of Tess results from a number of social and moral factors. For example, Huang Liling has a thorough clarification of these factors in her “The Analysis of Tessrsquo;s Tragedyrsquo;s Social Cause.” She argues that the major causes are the traditional moral standards, capitalist invasion, hypocritical religion and law, gender oppression and Tessrsquo;s own weakness (50-52).

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