Wilde’s Outlook on Women in Lady Windermere’s Fan英语专业毕业论文

郑州航空工业管理学院毕 业 论 文（设 计） 2013 届 英 语 专业 0907061 班级题 目Wildes Outlook on Women in Lady Windermeres Fan 姓 名 学号 090706111 指导教师 职称 讲师 二 三 年 五 月 二十四 日Wildes Outlook on Women in Lady Windermeres FanBy Supervisor: Department of Foreign Languages Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry ManagementMay 2013内 容 摘 要 奥斯卡.王尔德(Oscar Wilde, 1854 - 1900)是19世纪末英国唯美主义的著名代表作家。他无论在诗歌、童话、散文、议论文、小说,还是在戏剧的创作中都给后人留下了隽永的佳作。他“为艺术而艺术”的主张不仅对19世纪末欧洲文学产生了巨大的影响,而且对后来现代派的表现主义、超现实主义和存在主义的形成也有不可忽视的作用。本文以女性主义角度分析温德米尔夫人的扇子重的两位女性主人公形象温德米尔夫人和厄林夫人，并以此分析王尔德的女性观。本文共包括引言、正文和结论三部分。引言简单介绍了温德米尔夫人的扇子的故事梗概和该作品的研究现状。正文分为三章：第一章对剧中两位女性形象温德米尔夫人和厄林夫人进行详细的分析。第二章在之前分析的基础上得出王尔德独具一格的女性观。第三章分析了王尔德女性观的成因。结论部分指出王尔德作品中的女性具有典型的特质，并对王尔德的女性观进行简要的总结关 键 词温德米尔夫人的扇子；王尔德；女性主义；女性观AbstractOscar Wilde (1854 - 1890) is Britains most famous aesthete writer in 19th century. He has left various excellent works, whether in his poets, fairy tales, arguments, prose, novel or creation of drama. His idea of “art for arts sake” has not only make a huge impact to European literature in late 19th century, but also make a great effect to later expressionism, surrealism and existentialism. This thesis departs from a different perspective to analyze two female images, summarizes Oscar Wildes unique outlook.This thesis consists 3 sections: The introduction part provides a brief introduction to Oscar Wilde, the main plot of Lady Windermeres Fan，and the studies on Oscar Wildes comedies at home and abroad. In part two, there is mainly the analysis of the two female images in the play: Lady Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne. Chapter Three puts forward Wildes outlook on women based on the analysis ahead. In the 4th part, this thesis aims to analyze the factors that contribute to form Wildes out on women. In the last part lies the conclusion, this part aims to summarize Wildes unique outlook and unique characters on women.Key words: Lady Windermeres Fan; Oscar Wilde; feminism；outlooks on femaleAcknowledgements I am very grateful to all those people who have, directly and indirectly, contributed to the genesis of this thesis.First and foremost, my gratitude should goes to my supervisor, Wang Feihong, for her encouragement and constant guidance in writing this thesis. If it were not for her help, this article would not be possible and better. I am also greatly indebted to my friends and classmates. This thesis would not be completed so smoothly without their constant care, support and encouragement during my writing process.Wildes Outlook on Women in Lady Windermeres FanIntroductionAs 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 both 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 homosexuality, the career of Oscar Wilde was cut short; and this has led to his miserable downfall of reputation and imprisonment.Lady Windemeres Fan tells a simple story：Lord and Lady Windermere decided to throw a party to celebrate Lady Windermeres 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 notorious Mrs. Erlynne (Lady Windermeres mother in fact) to the party, she felt so angry that she misunderstood her husbands providing Mrs. Erlynne to get back to higher society and doubted that her husband might have done something disloyal to her. Then Lady Windermere decided to run to Lord Darlintongs apartment and elope with him in a fit of pique. But at last, Mrs. Erlynne saved her daughters reputation and family by sacrificing her chance of getting back to higher society, then she decided to marry Lord Augustus and to live abroad.Studies on Wildes comedies abroad can be divided into three stages. In the first stage (1892-1899), critics about Wildes comedies came to appear in English newspapers, representing opinions of the age. 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 of the comedies of Manners by J. H. K. Lockhart (1968). Among those critics, Richard Ellmann is one of the best that have dedicated to working on Wilde during this stage. He published many valuable works such as The Critical writings of Oscar Wilde (1969) and Oscar Wilde (1988). In the third stage (since 1970)，people began to employ new methods of literary criticism, based on the modern trend of the study of Wildes comedies, including Wilde: Comedies by William Tedeman (1982) and Oscar Wilde and the Theatre of the 1890s by Kerry Powell (1990). In addition, Norbert Kohls Oscar Wilde: the works of a Conformist Rebel b (1989) is an exemplary text study about Wilde.Wildes social comedies were translated into Chinese early in 1915 and the researches on Wildes comedies started in 1920s.The study of Wildes 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 implementing comparative approaches. The following are main articles on Wildes comedies: The Wonderful Use of a Fan by Fan Tongwei (1983), A Book Review on Lady Windermeres Fan by Chen Lifu (1987) and The Family Ethics in Wildes Society Comedies by Wu Xueping (2004). Recent studies on Wildes Lady Windermeres Fan in China can be represented by On Changeable Images of Fan by Gu Bijun (2005), Aestheticism in the Fan by Shang Zhao (2005), On Oscar Wildes View of Feminism by Yang Ni (2006), and The Ethical Principles in Wildes Social Comedies: A Case Study of Lady Windermere s Fan by Liu Maosheng (2006).Many studies concerning the moral ethics, aestheticism and “cynics” have been conducted to analyze Lady Windermeres Fan; however, few of the researchers have analyzed the play through the perspective of feminism. This thesis departs from a different perspective to analyze two female images, and summarizes Oscar Wildes unique outlook on women through sharp contraction.1. Good Woman and Bad WomanLady Windermeres Fan, the first of Oscar Wildes four social comedies, is one comedy which has been introduced to and well received by Chinese readers. In 1981, Oscar Wilde created Lady Windermeres Fan, originally called A Good Woman, which means “the 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 analyzed, namely the “good woman” lady Windermere and the “bad woman” Mrs. Erylnne. Here is the analysis of the two female images in Lady Windermeres Fan and find out Wildes outlook on women.1.1 Good Woman: Lady WindermereLady Windermere is well accepted as a good woman and a decent character on behalf of higher society. She is young, beautiful 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 make concessions to or comprise with any behaviours violating social customs. Lord Windermere firmly insisted that she invite Mrs. Erlynne to the ball, which is thrown to celebrate lady Windermeres 20th birthday.However, she declined regardless of lord windermeres 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.”Whats 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 sold.” Those words revealed lady Windermeres moral superiority as a good woman and her overconfidence on knowing the difference between what is good and evil. Even such a woman with firm moral ideas could have easily been gossiped down .She was shcoked by Lord Darlingtons inducing words and decided to elope with him. If it were not for Mrs. Erlynnes sacfarcing to help her get rid of the dangerous situation at 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.1.2 Bad Woman: Mrs. ErlynneMrs. Erlynne, another main character in this play, represents the “bad woman” in society. Shes got charming in appearance, “bright and transparent” in mind, and 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 and her infamous scandals make her the representative of a “bad woman”.However, it is this woman, who has been despised as a “shameless woman” by Lady Windermere, which had sacrificed to save lady Windermeres 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.With her great maternal 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 challenge to hypocritical moral ideas of higher society.Through the comparison between Mrs. Erlynne and Lady Windermere, it can be drawn that there is no definite differences between “bad woman” and “good 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.2. Wildes Outlook on Women2.1 Eliminating Moral Shackles on WomenIn Victorian Age, Protestism dominates every aspect of social lives. And according to the doctrine of Protestantism, the involvement of sex in conversations is strictly prohibited. At that time, womens chastity is above anything else and its immoral to have sex before marriage. They (males)strongly urged that woman, especially the young, should resist any inner needs or exterior temptation as possible as they can and keep chastity. When a woman successfully resisted the temptations, she would win the respect of others. Or if a woman fails to keep chastity before or during her marriage, then she is doomed to fall into an eternally abyss.Mrs. Erlynne in this play belongs to one of those so-called fallen women. 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 they are termed, may have in them sorrow, repentance, pity, sacrifice” Isnt this a bitter irony to womens moral values in Victorian Age? Wilde probed into traditional outlook on women in Victorian Age, exposed and denounced the harsh bonds constrained to womens thoughts and behaviors by social circumstances, satirized and criticized hypocritical and foolish moral system of that time, thus dissolved some prejudices and harsh shackles tied to women at a certain degree.2.2 Emphasizing the Family Roles of WomenAbandoning her husband and daughter, Mrs. Erlynne first appeared as an evil 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 reproached 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; in real life we dont do such things (Wilde 527). Mrs. Erlynne knew better than anyone else how to survive in this hypocritical, utilitarian and patriarchal society. Only a miserable and painful life was waiting for her, if she lived as other women did.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 of 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 that the home was a place of solace and comfort for the husband and children, free from all the hassles or burdens of outside work. They were supposed to be the sunbeam in the house by making others happy. Lady Windermere who appeared as a good wife and mother actually was on the verge of eloping with the man who said he loved her. Ironically, Mrs. Erlynne named as a fallen woman made no efforts to sacrifice everything in order to save her daughters reputation. When Lady Windermere nearly gave herself away by the fan, it was her self-sacrificing and desperate mother- Mrs. Erlynne who stood out toMrs. Erlynne said: “I feel a passion awakening within me that I never felt before.How can I save her? 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 preserved the goodness in her deep heart after such a long period of struggle in this society. When they were trapped together in Darlingtons rooms by the men returning from their club she was forced to overhear mens scandalous talk of her, she bravely played the role they had cast her in, so Lady Windermere could escape such abusive denigration herself.In order to 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: Let you wife cherish the memory of this dead, stainless mother.I thought I have no heart. I find I have, and a heart doesnt suit me, Windermere (Wilde 527). That Lady Windermere was calculating was true, but for a definite purpose. She acted to safeguard the future of the Windermeres marriage. Lady Windermere knew she must quit this society; she would always be a woman with the past. Yet, Wilde had invested her with depth, moral stature, and personal dignity.2.3 Subverting womens gender rolesIt is difficult to find a clear-cut difference between the female and male characters in Wildes 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 self-consciousness. They express themselves directly without hesitation. More often than not, woman characters wit and tact always dwarf men.In Lady Windermeres Fan (1892), Mrs. Erlynne-a fallen woman who was bitterly despised and scorned by Victorian society was characterized by her unconventionality, courage and goodness. She was not willing in consistent with theset role for women of that age but took her own course to combat the oppression from patriarchal society; she sacrificed everything to save her daughters name when Lady Windermere planned to elope with another man.Like other female characters, Mrs. Erlynne was manly, witty and courageous in Wildes creations. She was a female who could live in the patriarchal society without males support thanks to her intellect and courage. It seems that Mrs. Erlynne was powerful evidence against the conception of womens inferiority and subordination to men.3. The Formation of Wildes Outlook on WomenGenerally speaking，there are three mainly reasons amount to the formation of Wildes unique outlook on women, namely social circumstances, family influences and personal preferences.3.1 Social CircumstancesFirst of all, the rise of feminist movement in the latter half of 19th century contributes a great deal to Wildes outlook on women.In 1837when Queen Victoria came to the throne, 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 professionsIn this period, sexual inequality in politics, economic life, education and social positions still prevailed; women were still regarded as second-class citizens:(1) Man for the field and woman for the hearth;(2) Man for the sword and woman for the needle;(3) Man with the head and woman with the heart;(4) Man to command and woman to obeyThe 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 opened 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 feminist movement started, fighting for womens equality and freedom, and for their educational and employment opportunities.Feminist movement is also known as the Emancipation of Women. It began in the Victorian Age, and this age has seen a change of womens 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-expression, patience, obedience, and tolerance were traditional feminine virtues highly praised by the whole society in the Victorian Age.The final goal of feminist movement was to gain political rights, 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 women, use their literary works and actual action to concern and support the feminist movementFrom 1887to 1889 Wilde worked as an editor of the monthly journal the Womans World, which gave him the opportunity for direct engagement in the arena of sexual politics. This gives him a deep understanding and insight into women.3.2 Family influences3.2.1 Wildes mother, Lady WildeLady Wilde was the most important woman in Wildes life, without her, Oscar Wilde would not exist. Lady Wilde shaped Wilde in every aspect, from his talking stye, his walking style and even his 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.She was an early advocate of womens 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 Bondage of women” that ”We have now traced the history of women from Paradise to theNineteenth century, and have heard nothing through the long roll of the age but the clank of their fetters. Lady Wilde, socialist ladies. To break the fetters of women was as urgent as to set Ireland free from the bondage of England despotism.It can be clear seen that Wilde mother bears the conscious of a feminist, and her feminism impacted Wilde who worshiped his mother intensely. She not only gave Wi