历史语境下美国“新女性”文学中主人公的悲剧性结局 <br />-西安建筑科技大学学报（社会科学版）

文章信息/Info

Title:: The Tragic Endings of the Heroines of American "New Woman" Literature in the Historical Context

摘要:: "新女性"文学是十九世纪末到二十世纪初在美国文坛流行的一种女性叙事,是当时美国社会关于妇女问题的大讨论在文学领域的延伸,这类作品宣扬独立自强的"新女性"理念,描写"新女性"对维多利亚价值观和道德规范的反叛。本文以朱厄特的《汤姆的丈夫》、吉尔曼的《黄色墙纸》和肖班的《觉醒》为例,从历史视角分析这三部作品中女主人公的生存困境,认为这些试图重新定义自我身份的"新女性"以妥协、疯癫、死亡而告终的原因在于她们对传统的僭越、对旧秩序的威胁。

Abstract:: “New Woman” literature is a type of female narrative that emerged in America at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It is an extension of the discussion of the “Woman Question” in American society to the field of literature. “New Woman” stories advocate strong independent women images and depict women’s rebellion against Victorian value system and code of conduct. This paper places Jewett’s “Tom’s Husband,” Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Chopin’s The Awakening in their historical context and analyzes the heroines’ predicament. It concludes that these women who tried to redefine their identity ended up with compromise, madness or death because they trespassed against tradition and were a threat to the old order.