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1、Feminism in The Scarlet Letter and The Thorn BirdsFeminism in The Scarlet Letter and The Thorn Birds11. Introduction12. Differences between the attitude to women in Prynnes time and Meggies2time22.1 The social circumstances of the two novels22.2 Feminist in the certain social circumstances32.3 Diffe
2、rent ways of presenting feminism by male and female writer43. Similar feminist ideas related to the two heroines103.1 Feminism in love103.2 Resistance to the society113.3 Feminist ideas reflected in Pearl and Justine134. Conclusion15References161. IntroductionAccording to Oxford Advanced Learners En
3、glish-Chinese Dictionary, feminism is “belief in the principle that women should have the same right and opportunities (legal, political, social, and economic, etc) as men.” (AS, Hornby 2002:535) Traditionally, women were tied by bonds of love and dependence on men (and subsequently to their childre
4、n). Also the traditional belief was that women were inferior to men not only in physical part but also in psychological aspect. They were considered lacking in consciousness of leading their own lives. Feminism contradicts these traditional beliefs and emphasizes individual character and the female
5、consciousness. “Feminist writers have argued that our culture and the social structures built around it force keeping women tied into the traditional gender role and subordinate to men.” (Guoying Fu, 2002: 75) This thesis is to explore how feminism implied is in The Scarlet Letter and The Thorn Bird
6、s. Regarding to the feminism that shows in the two novels, we can study the significance of feminism in modern literature and fiction, which influence on women that will be good for us to search a more high value position for women in this modern society. From the two heroines, we figure out that wo
7、men also can make every effort to search for their want and drive their own dreams. In addition, we female should not be scared by the male dominated society, but try to protect our liberty and rights as the two heroines did. 2. Differences between the attitude to women in Prynnes time and Meggies t
8、ime2.1 The social circumstances of the two novelsFirst, In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne had deep bonds with his Puritan ancestors and created this story that both highlighted their weaknesses and their strengths. The Scarlet Letter shows his attitude toward these Puritans of Boston. The s
9、ocial background of The Scarlet Letter is a small community of Puritans. People there believe that all mankind was depraved and sinful. At that time, only male and members of the church could vote. The rules governing the Puritans came from the Bible, a source of spiritual and ethical standards. The
10、se rules were definite, and the penalties or punishments were public and severe. Then, the story just took place during that period. Hesters turn on the scaffold and her scarlet letter were similar to those who were branded or forced to wear an M for murderer. Those who disagreed with the laws of th
11、e colony were banished, persecuted, and, in some cases, executed. (陈伟娜, 2007)On the contrary, from 1915 to 1960, the living condition and social circumstance in The Thorn Birds were not as serious as The Scarlet Letter. The Thorn Birds was published in 1977 that was at the period of the modern femin
12、ism movements. The story was taken place mostly between the two world wars. The male dominated society was still in place in Australia and New Zealand. 2.2 Feminist in the certain social circumstancesThe Scarlet Letter is a 19th century novel, it reflects the time when the first feminism movements t
13、ook place in America. Nathaniel Hawthorne noticed the most important aspect of feminism, although he himself did not support the movement. In addition, the society built by the Puritans was stern and repressive, with no individualism for Women. For women, they must turn to be the so-called good wome
14、n and met the need of the society and take care of their reputation. At that period, women were just start to notice how they can gain their deserved rights, equalities and freedom. They started to do some simple fighting for their rights.There is a few centuries gap between the time of the story an
15、d the time the novel was written. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester represents the resistance side. She was brave enough to condemn her sin and she openly wears the “A”. She believed in God, but once tried to steal a priest from God. She said: “why shouldst thou tarry so much as one other day in the tor
16、ments that have so gnawed into thy life! That have made thee feeble to will and to do!-that will leave thee powerless even to repent! Up, and away ” “Dimmesdale ask her Alone, Hester!, Thou shalt not go alone! answered she, in a deep whisper. Then, all was spoken!” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1994:198). The disgrace, despairs and loneness change her to be independent. She even showed more passion to life
