女性主义视角下玛格丽特阿特伍德与张爱玲小说的比较研究分析 文学专业

摘要

张爱玲与玛格丽特·阿特伍德作为女性作家，她们从自身独特的女性视角和细腻内心出发，描写着女性在父权主义社会中的遭遇与感受。在一定意义上，她们的作品都为女性主义文学做出了卓越贡献。本文以女性主义视角为出发点，并选取两位作家众多作品中的有代表性的一部分，使用文本分析法，对其进行深入剖析，并进行研究比较。

第一部分为全文介绍，主要介绍本文的研究背景，主要研究内容和研究目的。

第二部分为文献综述部分，将系统的介绍中西女性主义的起源及演变，国内外对女性主义的研究，以及学者们对张爱玲文学作品女性主义的研究和学者们对玛格丽特·阿特伍德文学作品女性主义的研究。

第三部分是对玛格丽塔·阿特伍德文学作品的分析，分为前期作品分析和后期作品分析，并加以总结。

第四部分是对张爱玲文学作品的分析，分为前期作品分析和后期作品分析，并加以总结。

第五部分将在女性主义的视角下，总结以上两部分，系统的比较两人作品中女性主义思想的相同点和不同点。

第五部分将完整的总结全文，并且得出研究结论。

虽然张爱玲与玛格丽特·阿特伍德生在不同的国度，但是两人所在时代差别不大，因此也可以对比那时的中西方女性主义思想的相同点与不同点，填补研究的空白，具有着非同寻常的意义。

关键词：张爱玲，玛格丽特·阿特伍德，女性主义，文本分析法

Abstract

Asafemalewriter,EileenChangandMargaretAtwooddepictsthewomen’sexperiencesandfeelingsinthepatriarchalsocietywiththeiruniquefemaleperspectiveanddelicatheart.Inacertainsense,theirworkshavemadegreatcontributionstofeministliterature.Thispaperwillanalyzesdeeplysomeofthemworksfromtheviewpointoffeminism,andhaveacomparativestudyunderthetextanalysismethod.

Thefirstpartwillintroducesthethesis,mainlyintroducestheresearchbackground,mainresearchcontentandresearchpurpose.

ThesecondpartisLiteratureReview.AuthorwillintroducethesystemofChineseandwesternfeminism’soriginandevolution,andthestudyoffeminismfromhomeandabroad,aswellasscholarsresearchesofEileenChang’sworksandMargaretAtwood’sworksaboutfeminismliterature.

ThethirdpartistheanalysisofMargretaAtwood'sliteraryworks,whichisdividedintotheanalysisoftheearlyworksandtheanalysisofthelaterworks,andsummarizesthem.

ThefourthpartistheanalysisofEileenChang'sliteraryworks,whichisdividedintotheanalysisoftheearlyworksandtheanalysisofthelaterworks,andsummarizesthem.

Thefifthpartwillsummarizeabovetwopartsfromtheperspectiveoffeminism,andsystematicallycomparethefeministidea’ssimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheirworks.

Thefifthpartwillsummarizethefulltextandwriteconclusion.

AlthoughEileenChangandMargaretAtwoodbornedindifferentcountries,buttheylivedinsameage,thereforepeoplealsocancomparethesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternfeminismviewpoints.Thisresearchcanfilltheblankoftheresearchandalsohastheunusualsignificance.

Keywords:EileenChang,MargaretAtwood,Feminism,Textanalysis

Contents

摘要III

AbstractIV

Chapter1Introduction1

1.1Significanceofthethesis1

1.2Researchquestion2

1.3Method2

Chapter2Literaturereviews2

2.1Theoriginoffeminismtheory2

2.1.1TheOriginofWesternFeminismtheory2

2.1.2TheOriginofChineseFeminismtheory3

2.2DevelopmentofFeminismtheory3

2.2.1TheDevelopmentofWesternFeminismtheory3

2.2.2TheDevelopmentofChineseFeminismtheory5

2.3Researchonfeminism8

2.3.1ASummaryofWesternStudiesonFeminism8

2.3.2ASummaryofHomeStudiesonFeminism10

2.4ResearchonMargaretAtwood'sfeminism10

2.5ResearchonEileenChang'sfeminism11

Chapter3TheanalysisofMargaretAtwood'swork12

3.1AnanalysisofEarlyWorksbyMargaretAtwoodthroughfeminism:TheEdibleWoman12

3.2AnanalysisofLaterWorksbyMargaretAtwoodthroughfeminism:TheHandmaid’sTaleandTheBlindAssassin14

3.3Thecharacteristicsandsignificanceofthetransformation.17

3.4Impactonfuturegenerations18

Chapter4TheanalysisofEileenChang’swork19

4.1AnanalysisofEarlyWorksbyZhangAilingthroughfeminism:Cow20

4.2AnanalysisofLaterWorksbyZhangAilingthroughfeminism:TheTaleofGoldLock22

4.3Thecharacteristicsandsignificanceofthetransformation.23

4.4Impactonfuturegenerations24

Chapter5Comparetwoauthor’sworksbyfeminismandCulturalcontrast24

5.1Similaritiesandreasons24

5.2Differencesandreasons25

Chapter6Conclusion27

References29

Chapter1Introduction

Inthe20thcentury,forwomen,itwasatimeofliberation.Withthebeginingofthewesternwomen'sliberationmovement,a"feministliterarycriticismcraze"waslaunchedaroundtheworld.FeministLiteraryCriticismreferstopeoplewhostandinfemale’spositiontocriticismtheliteraryworks.

Itistheguidancelampofwomen’sliberation.TheFeministLiteraryCriticisminheritthetheoryspiritfromVirginiaWolf’sbookARoomofOne’sOwn,Beauvoir’sbookLeDeuxièmeSexeandKateMillett’sbookSexualPolitics,anditprovidesthetheoreticalfoundationtofeminismdeconstructionmale-centeredliterature.

Inthe20thcentury,theCanadianwriterMargaretAtwoodandChinesewriterEileenChangusestheirsamefemale’sviewpointsanddelicatestrokestoshowawomen’sworldwhichunderthepatriarchism.Thereisnodoubtthattheir’sworkswasshowedsomecharacteristicsoffeminismandalsocontributedtoFeministliterary.Althoughtheywerenotrealfeminist,buttheseoutstandingwomenalsodiscribedthetraditionalexplainforwomenthroughtheirreallifeandexperiencesandembodytheremaekablefeminismcharactersclearly.

Uptonow,therearemanyresearchesaboutMargaretAtwood’sfeminismthoughtsorEileenChang’sfeminismthoughts,butthepaperaboutMargaretAtwoodandEileenChangisveryfew.Inthisfieldpeoplehavemanyresearchspacessothatneedpeopletohavemorediscusses.ThisthesiswilltrytoexplainMargaretAtwood’sworksandEileenChang’sworksthroughfeminismviewpointandfindthesimilaritiesanddifferencesintheirworks.

1.1Significanceofthethesis

Thispapercanfilluptheblankoftheresearch.Italsocanmakepeopleunderstandfeminismmoreandmoredeeply.ItisconducivetotheintegrationofChineseandwesternfeministculture,andcanmakepeoplehaveanewfocusonwomenandfeminism.

1.2Researchquestion

HowthefeminismideasareexpressedinEileenChang’sworks?

HowthefeminismideasareexpressedinMargretAtwood’sworks?

Whatarethesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheirworks?

1.3Method

Inthispaper,theresearchmethodisTextAnalysisthatNewcriticismcombinewithnarratologyanalysis.

Chapter2Literaturereviews

2.1Theoriginoffeminismtheory

2.1.1TheOriginofWesternFeminismtheory

Feminismreferstothesocialtheoryandpoliticalmovementthatwascreatedandlaunchedtoendsexism,sexualexploitation,sexualdiscriminationandsexualoppression.Inthehistoryofhumansociety,theconceptofhumanrightshasbeeninhistoryformorethan200years,buttheconceptofhumanrightsdoesnotincludewomen'srightsforalongperiodoftime.Asearlyasthe1791FrenchrevolutionaryleaderOlympedeGouges,publishedtheManifestoofwomen'srightsandthedeclarationofwomen'srights,orthe"Declarationofwomen'srights",thefeministmovementhasbeenkickedoff."Womenandfemalecivilrightsdeclaration"attheoutset,said:"womenarebornfreeandequalrightswithmen."Twoyearslatertheauthorofthedeclarationwaspushedtotheguillotinebyherformermalecounterparts.

InEurope,somescholarsdatingbacktothemiddleages.ItissaidthatthevoiceofsomewomenhasbeenheardsincefifteenthCentury.Accordingtowesternscholars,thefirstfeministintheworldisPesonofFrance.Herbirthanddeathyearwas1364-1430s.IntheseventeenthCentury,MaryEstelleofEnglandbecamethemostradicalandsystematicfeministinthatera.HeractionswerepraisedasthefirstBritishfeministstruggle.(Li,2015:292)

ThedeclarationofhumanrightsandcivilrightsinFranceandthedeclarationofindependence

in

theUnited

States,

the

meaning

of

rights

of

man

is

only

therightofmen,notincludingwomen.Thefeministmovementisunderthisbackground.Itmeansthatwomen'shumanrightspromotewomen'srighttobehumanfromtheedgetothemainstream,makingwomen'srightsanimportantpartofthewholehumanrights.Undersuchhistoricalconditions,thefeministmovementbeganinthewesterncountries.

2.1.2TheOriginofChineseFeminismtheory

InChina,theearliestfolkfemalesocietiescanbetracedbacktoonethousandyears,therearetwopiecesofancientbookfoundinDunhuangshowsinthe959AD,Chinaiscomposedofwomentoprotectthemselves,selfhelp,selfentertainmentforthefolkfemalecommunity‘womanclub’.

ThiscanbeseenasafeministintheancientChinasprout,butduetothelimitationofChineseancientpatriarchal,andwomenshouldobeytherulesthatathomefromthefather,marriedfromthehusband,thehusbanddiesfromtheson,sothatfeminismhasnotdeveloped.EvenduringtheTangDynasty,whenEmperorWuZetianpromotedagroupoffemaleofficer.Thefeminismatthattimewasaflashinthepanbecauseofthestrongpatriarchyinsociety.Beforetheemergenceofmodernwomen'sstudies,thefeminisminChinahadbeensuppressedbypatriarchy.

2.2DevelopmentofFeminismtheory

2.2.1TheDevelopmentofWesternFeminismtheory

ThedevelopmentofWesternwomen'smovementmainlyexperiencedthreewaves.ThefirstwavewasfromthemiddleofthenineteenthCenturytothe1920s.Thefirstdebateinthefirstwaveisthatwomenshouldnothavetherighttovoteinapoliticalway.Thesecondfocusofthedebateisthatwomenshouldnothavetherighttobeeducated,andwhateducationshouldbetaught.Thethirdargumentis:theproblemofwomen'semployment,especiallytheemploymentofmarriedwomen.InJuly19,1848,thefirstAmericanConferenceonwomen'srightswasheldintheWeissLianMethodistChurchinthevillageofSenecaFowles,NewYork.Adeclarationofrightsandopinionswasadoptedatthemeeting.ThemainorganizersoftheconferencewerebothactiveparticipantsintheabolitionmovementandLucretiaCoffinMotl,ElizabethCadyStandonandSusanBAnthony,whowerereferredtoasthemotherofthefeministmovement.SomehistoriansbelievethattheconveningoftheconferencemarkstheformalstartoftheAmericanfeministmovement.

In1859,thefirstBritishfeministorganization,LadiesofLanghamPlace,establishedtheAssociationforthepromotionofwomen'semployment.Themostfamousleaderofthefirstwaveofwomen'smovementwasMaryWollstonecraft.Shewasaactivistforthefirstgenerationoffemaleactivities.Sheputforwardtherequirementsoffullequalitybetweenthesexes,includinggenderequality,civilrightsandpoliticalrights,againstaristocraticprivileges,emphasizing

that

men

and

women

have

nodifference

in

intelligence

and

ability.

Shearguedthatwomenshouldnolongerbesubjecttotheirbodiesandtheemotionsbroughtaboutbytheirbodies.HerworkAVindicationoftheRightsofWomen:withStricturesonPoliticalandMoralSubjectshasbecomeaclassicofwomen'smovement.Inthisbook,MaryWollstonecraft

demands

the

right

of

work,

the

right

of

education,

the

right

of

political

and

therightofvoteforwomen.(Mary,2006:18)

Asasociety,acitizen,awomanalsoasksfortherighttovoteandtobeeducated,andwomenarenoworsethanaman.Thisstageendswithwomenwinningtherighttovote.

The

first

country

to

win

theright

to

vote

for

women

was

New

Zealand,1894.ThesecondisAustralia,1914.TherighttovoteforBritishwomenisachievedintwosteps:in1918,womenover30hadtherighttovote.By1928,womenfinallygotthesamerighttovoteasmen.IntheUnitedStates,thefirstwomen'srighttovotewasWyomingin1868,followedbythestateofUtahin1870.InAugust1920,Americanwomenhadtherighttovote.ThisrightisenshrinedintheNineteenthAmendmenttotheconstitutionoftheUnitedStates.

Thesecondwavetookplacein1960s.DuringtheSecondWorldWar,mencametothebattlefield,womenmovedfromfamilytosociety,filledmen'svacantjobs,andthestatealsomobilizedwomentocontributetothecountry.Itturnsoutthatallthemendo,womenareabletodoit.Butafterthewar,themancamebackfromthebattlefield,andthewomanhadtoreturnhome.Thismadewomenveryunhappy,whichtriggeredthe

second

wave

of

women's

liberation

movement.

The

women's

liberation

movementdeveloped

rapidly,andin70schangedmanysocialconcepts.

FrenchfeministBeauvoir’sbookLeDeuxièmeSexewaspublishedin1949s.Itisknownas

the

historyof

the

most

perfect,

to

discuss

women's

most

sensible

and

full

of

wisdom’sbook,evenregardedasthe"BibleofWesternwomen".Beauvoirwascalledthe"spiritualmother"ofthesecondwavefeministmovementbecauseofthisbook.

Thethirdwave,peoplehavevaryideas,generallyproducedinthe70-80's,thefeminismandpostmodernismcorrespondingschools.Inthisperiod,feminismhasdiversifieddevelopment,suchasthefeminisminthethirdworld,ecofeminism,postmodernfeminismandsoon.

2.2.2TheDevelopmentofChineseFeminismtheory

ThemainofChinawomenmovementcontentsare:requirementsforwomen'srights,setupwomen'sindustry,askforwomen'ssocialrightssuchastheabolitionoffootbinding,haircut’sright,andfreedomofmarriage.

Speaking

of

the

awakening

of

modern

women

in

China,

the

influence

of

WesternchurchestoChinesewomen'sstudiesmustbementioned.ThetheoryoffeminismintheWestwasspreadtoChinaintheearlytwentiethCentury.In1902,Spencer'sWomen'srightswasintroducedtoChina,whichisthefirstfeministworkinmodernChinesetranslation.In1903,JohnMaitreyaWomanpressingtheoryandsecondinternational’sFeministManifesto,andLiuYazi'sTheoriginofLilinotfoot-bindingorganizationwasintroducedinChina.InthearticleOntheimportanceofeducationonwomen'sstudies,SunXiongdescribedtheflourishingofthewomeneducationeast.ThetheoryofwesternfeminismhasbeenwidelyspreadandinfluencedinChinaatthattime.

Women'seducationisundoubtedlythefirststepintheawakeningofChinesewomenandthewayofgettingridofthetraditionalwomen'swayoflife.(Li,2015:303)

In1903,thefirstwomenpatrioticgroup,free-love,wasorganizedbythefemalestudentsinJapan.FemaleilluminatiQiuJin’sToChinese200millionfemalecompatriotsandsheappealtowomenshouldbecometo"nationalvictresses",shealsowroteapoemEncouragefeministthatwastrumpmadewomencourageouslystrive.Thesameyear,thefirstdiscussesthewomenproblem’smonographwaspublished,thebooknamewasWarntowomenbyJinyi.Headvocate"theFeministRevolution"forthepurpose,relyonthebasisofhistoryandstatusofthefeministmovementinEuropeandAmerica.HedividedChinesewomen’spowerintocurrentandlatertwostages.Theauthorfirstcalledtheslogan"immortalwomen'srights".(Jin,1903.)

Atthattime,thewomen'smovementfoundedbytheelitewomen'snewspapersmorethan40species,suchasQiuJinin1907foundedtheChineselady,YanBinfoundedin1907’sChinanewwomenmagazine,theyalsolaunchedthesuffragettemovement,foughtforpoliticalrights.Themovementwasmarkedbytheestablishmentofthe"women'spoliticalallianceoftheRepublicofChina".(LiuYoutian,2016:18)

ThemostfamousfemalesportsleaderinthisperiodisQiuJin.Sheputforwardthemostcompletefemaleemancipationthoughtatthattime.Itsmainpointsincludethefollowingfiveaspects:first,theequalitybetweenmenandwomenisrequired.Second,thefreedomofmarriageisrequired.Third,againstwomen'sfootbinding.Fourth,advocatingwomen'sschoolsandadvocatingwomen'seconomicautonomy.Fifth,itadvocatesthatwomengotosocietyandparticipateinnationalaffairs.

In1913,SongQinglingpublishedtheModernChineseWomen.ShepointedoutthatChinawillbecomethelargestdevelopededuationalcountryintheworld,andwomenwillbeneckandneckwithmen.

AlthoughfeminismwasintroducedintoChinaintheearlytwentiethCentury,feminismhasnotbeenwidelyspreadanddevelopedduetovarioushistoricalreasonsandpracticalobstacles.Ithasalwaysbeenanaccessoryofthenationalliberationmovement.Inthe1980s,withtheriseofthereformandopening-uppolicy,feminismhasbeenfurtherdeveloped.

Inthisperiod,theintroductionoffeminismtoChinawasZhuHong.ShestandingonthefeministstandpointtointroducedthefeministliteratureintheUS,andgaveadetailedreviewofthehistoricalbackgroundoftheriseoffeminism.(LiuYa,2016:15-16)

In1990s,theWorldWomen'sCongress’arrivalbecameanewstartingpointforfeminism.Theconceptof"socialgender"hasbeenbroughtintoChina,andthefirsttimetherightsofwomenareincludedinthecategoryofhumanrights.Theconceptof"gender"challenges

the

thinking

of

"essentialism"

ofthe

sex

naturalization

of

men

and

women

in

80s,anditmadegenderbelongstothegenderconstruction’sresult.Thisalsoformedthefundamentalmotiveforceoffeminisminthelate1990s,inotherwords,it’seliminatethesocialoperationmechanismofgenderinequality.

AsprofessorAiXiaomingofZhongshanUniversityfoundedtheZhongshanUniversityGenderEducationForumin2003andledstudentstorehearsetheFeministDrama"vaginamonologue",ChineseFeministtrendofthoughtbegantomovetowardsthepublic.

In2012,ayoungfeministadvocacygroupBComewasestablishedinBeijing,withtheZhaoMeili,XiaoSileandAiKerepresentedanewgenerationoffeminists.Themediathinktheyare"youngfeministdoer",theyfullofcreativityandaction.Theyadvocatetheappealtotheplayandtheartofbehavior.Suchasinordertoagainstdomesticviolencetheyplaythestreetartactionnamed‘bloodyweddingdress’.Theseactionshavebroughtthemalotofyoungsupportersandhavemadeadefinitemovetopromotethechangeofstatepower.In2017,theyalsoshowindependentdramaOurVaginas,Ourselves.Thestoryfromainterviewofaparticulargroupandparticipants’slifeexperienceandtheirviewsonsocialhotissues;Itcanchangethetraditionalviewofgenderviolence,showthehighlightofsexualautonomyandinitiativeinwomenratherthanthinkwomenasvictims.

2.3Researchonfeminism

2.3.1ASummaryofWesternStudiesonFeminism

Withthecontinuousdevelopmentoffeminism,thedifferentgenresoffeminismhaveemerged.

FirstisLiberalfeminism.FromeighteenthCenturyto1960s,theleadingtendencyofwomen'smovementisfollowingthetraditionofliberalism,whichfocusesonwomen'sindividualrightsandpoliticalandreligiousfreedom,women'schoiceandselfdetermination.

ThemostimportantrepresentativeofearlyliberalismfeminismisMaryWollstonecraft.She’sAVindicationoftheRightsofWomen:withStricturesonPoliticalandMoralSubjectswaspublishedin1792.HerphilosophicalthoughtoriginatedfromtheFrenchRevolutionandshewascriticizedRousseau'sviewofwomen.Shebelievedthatreasonisthebasisofcitizenship,deniedthatwomen'sabilityinreasonandreasonislowerthanthatinmen,andadvocatedthatmenandwomenareequallyeducated.Women'smarriageandchildbearingmustbebasedonrationalchoice.Shehasmadeastrongcriticismofthesocialconsequencesofexcludingwomenfromeducationandnegatingtherationalabilityofwomen.(Zhang,2014:25)

Thesecondisradicalfeminism,theimportantrepresentativeofradicalfeminismwasKateMillett.InherbookSexualPolitics,sheintroducedtheconceptofpatriarchyanddevelopeditintoanimportanttheoryofradicalfeminism.Millettbelievesthatthecoresourceofwomen'soppressionistopayfulltime,notthecapitalisteconomicsystem.Inthepatriarchalsociety,theoppression

of

women

isbased

on

the

patriarchal

culture,

and

the

patriarchal

culture

repressesthewomen.(Kate,2003)

ThedialecticsofsexbyShulamithFirestonisregardedastherepresentativeworkofphysiologicalessentialism.Firestone'sviewisthatthereproductivemechanismistherootoftheoppressionofwomen.Firestonebelievesthatthedifferencebetweentwosexesdoesnotnecessarilyleadtotheruleofagroupofpeopletoanothergroupofpeople.Itisthereproductivefunctionofwomenthatleadstotheinequalityofthepowerofthetwosexes.Onlybyrebuildingthefertilitymechanism,womencangettheirliberation.

JulietMitchellisthepioneerofsocialistfeminism,andtheanalysisofherfamilyismostlynonmaterial,thatis,psychoanalysisandideology.Theimmaterialpartofafamilyisdeterminedbythedeeppsychologyofhumanbeings.Unlessthedeeppsychologicalchangesaremade,women'spursuitofmoreequalityinsocietywillnotchangethesituationofwomen.Thisisbecausemenandwomeninthesubconsciouspsychologicaldominationandtheformationofphallicsymbolsaredeeplysocialattitudetowardwomen,sothisattitudechangeisnotsofast.Mitchellthinksthattheideologymodeofthemaledominatedsocietyandthecapitalisteconomicmodearetwofields.WeshouldoverturncapitalismwithMarx'sstrategyandsubvertthepatriarchalsocietywithpsychoanalysisstrategy.

LuceIrigarayisarepresentativefigureofpostmodernfeminism.Sheproposestobreaktheconnectionbetweentraditionalmasculinityandrationalityanduniversality,sothattheworldcanhearthevoiceof"women".Sheobservedwomen'sproblemsfromtheperspectiveofpsychoanalysisandpoststructuralism,andquestionedtheconsciousrationalsubjects.Inherview,reasonismalewesternideology.Shesaystherearenowomen'sdifferencesinthepatriarchalsystem,andwomen'srightsandinterestsarenotguaranteedbylawandlanguage.Sheadvocatesthecreationofasetofwomen'ssymbols,emphasizingandhighlyevaluatinggenderdifferences.

2.3.2ASummaryofHomeStudiesonFeminism

TheearliestinChinabegantheresearchoffeminismisDr.LiYinhe,shebegantostudyalotofwesternfeminism,thepublicationoftranslationWomen:thelongrevolutionofContemporaryWesternfeministtheoryselection,whichincludedthefamousWesternfeministtheoristoftheclassicargumentforChinathematerialofWesternfeministstudies.InherbookTheriseofwomen'srights,sheintroducedthemainschoolsoftheWesternfeminist;infeminism,LiYinhemadeasystematicanalysisabouttheWesternfeminist’sideas,strugglemodesthroughsociologytheory.

2.4ResearchonMargaretAtwood'sfeminism

MargaretAtwoodisafemouswriterinCanada.Atwoodshowsthepsychologicalworldandlifecourseofwomeninhernovelworld.Infact,atwood'snovelswasfocusonwomen.(Zhang,2011:2-3)AtwoodisbestknownforhernovelsTheHandmaid’sTale,TheBlindAssassinandOryxandCrake,whichhavewonbigawardslikeBookerPrizeandGovernorGeneral’sAwardforher.ManyscholarsstudiedthefeminismthoughtaboutherbookslikeTheHandmaid’sTaleandsoon.TheythinkMargaretAtwood’sworkshaveEco-feminismthought.CoralAnnHowellsillustratedMargaretAtwoodintheCanadiancontext,inpowerpolitics,environmentalism,dystopianvisions,andetc.Shehighlightedthat,inTheHandmaid’sTaleandTheBlindAssassin,womenhavenopowertodefypatriarchalprescriptions.(Howells,1996:167)InTheodoreF.Sheckels’ThePoliticalinMargaretAtwood’sFictionTheWritingontheWallofTheTent,heinterpretedAtwood’sworksinapoliticalpointofview.WhenhereferredtoTheHandmaid’sTale,hesaid,‘Thesocialstructurewasrigidforthemeninit,buttheyhadadegreeoffreedomthewomendidnot.’(Sheckels,2012:80)

ThestudyofMargaretAtwoodstartedlateinChina.PeoplebaganfocusonMargaretAtwoodbeganintheearly1990s.MoYapingwhosefromLiJiangpublishinghousewroteaarticalinContemporaryForeignLiteraturewhichwasthefirsttimetointroducethefamousfemalewritertotheChinesereaders.Thenextyear,FengYiDaiintroducedAtwood'snewworkstoChinesereadersintheReadingmagazine.Sincethen,hehasopenedthecurtainofAtwoodresearchinChina.

2.5ResearchonEileenChang'sfeminism

AsBeauvoir’ssaid:Thepatriarchalcivilizationgiveswomentochastity;ithasalittlepublicrecognitionoftherightofmentohavesex,buttheyrestrictwomentotheirmarriage.Sex,withoutcustom,Canonrecognizedforherisamistake,afall,asetbackandaweakness.Sheshoulddefendherchastity,herownhonor.Ifshe'succumb',ifshe'depravity',shewillbedespised.(Beauvoir,2009.)

MostofEileenChang'snovelscharactersalmostarehercontemporaries,mostlylivinginthewesternizedcitieslikeShanghaiandHongKong,andunwillingtofollowthefallenoftheoldera.(Wang,2009:158-159)First,fromafemaleperspectiveofmarriage.InTheTaleofGoldLock,EileenChangnotonlygivesusawomaninmarriagetothepursuitofmaterialsothatsufferedpredicament,butalsorevealsthismarraigethatnoloveandnosexwoulddistortedpersonalityandwomen's

psychology.

Thesecond

is

the

deconstruction

of

the

traditional

male

image.

In

theLoveofthefallencity,EileenChangclearlyrealizedthatthecivilizationoftheageismalecivilization,andthelifeofwomeninthiscivilizationismuchmoreharderthanmen.Itistheculturalenvironmentofthemalecenterthatforcedthefemaletobecomea"woman".Atthesametime,shealsodecidedthatwomenshouldresponsibleforthemselves.Althoughthedevelopmentprocessofthesocietyisrestrictedbythepowerofnonindividual,inthespecificstageofdevelopment,"thereisalwaysanactiveingredient".Therefore,ifwewanttomakewomenfacemeninanequalmanner,wemustdeconstructthetraditionalmaleimages,soastoestablishwomen'sindependentpersonality.(Zhou,2006:35)

Chapter3TheanalysisofMargaretAtwood'swork

Margaret

Eleanor

Atwood

was

born

in

Ottawa

Canada

in

November

18,1939,

and

she

is

the

secondchildreninthefamily.Asthefirstgirlinthefamily,Atwoodwasnamedashermother.Inordertomakeiteasytodistinguish,Atwood'sfamilyandfriendsalwayscalledher"Peggy",andshealwaysclaimedthatsheneverlikedit.Peggy'sfather,CarlEdmundAtwoodisanentomologist,hewasemployedbythegovernmentforalongtimetorunaforestinsectresearchstation.Forthiswork,theAtwoodfamilyhadmorethanhalfayearinthewildernessofOntarioandNorthernQuebec,sothattheyoungPeggyhadnotacceptedformalfull-timeeducationforalongtime.Inthisway,thebarrenfieldofnorthernCanadapermanentlyenteredPeggy'smindandhadafargreaterimpactonCanadianLiteratureinthefuture.Alsointhewilderness,likeallearlysmartchildren,MargaretAttwoodbeganherwritingcareerin5yearsold.

Attheageof21,Atwoodpublishedherfirstcollectionofpoems,