美国留学生thesis—乱世佳人中的生态女权主义意识流解读
在世界文学史上，美国女作家玛格丽特•米切尔是少有的凭借一部作品就名扬天下的作家之一。她唯一的一部长篇小说《飘》自问世以来，在文学界备受人们的关注。生态女性主义批评指出，女性与自然是交织融合，密切联系的，这种联系包括符号上或象征的、经验上或地位上的联系。《飘》中女性与自然也是密切联系的：女性是自然细心的呵护，而大自然也是女性的避难所和力量的源泉，他们互相慰藉，又互相依赖。由此，本dissertation试图从具体文本出发，试图展现和探讨女性和自然的密切关系，两者互相慰藉，又互相依赖的关系，以其能丰富、扩展对《飘》的研究。
本dissertation由四个章节及一个引言和结语组成。引言部分简单概括《飘》的社会地位以及dissertation基本内容。第一章在综述国内为批评界对《飘》评论的基础之上提出本dissertation的中心论题。第二章对生态女性主义批评的兴起和生态女性主义文学批评进行梳理，由此提出dissertation的理论基础为下文的具体文本分析提供理论指出。第三章具体分析《飘》中女性与自然的密切联系：符上的、经验上的和地位上的联系。第四章通过对自然中房子意象的描写，实现人与自然、人与社会的生态和谐，生态女性主义的房子才是人类理想的寓所。
Abstract
In the world of literature, Margaret Mitchell is one of the few writers whose fames are built on only one book. The Eco-feminists point out that nature and females are intertwined and closely related. Their links cover three aspects---the symbolic, experiential and the status. Nature and females are also mutually represented, symbolized and mutually supported and depended on. The author attempts to study the close relationship between nature and females, which are mutually complementary, represented, symbolized, and dependent on and supported in Gone with the Wind to enrich and expand the study.
This thesis comprises four chapters with one introduction and a conclusion. The introduction tells something about the article and Gone with the Wind. In Chapter One scans the previous studies on Gone with the Wind at home and abroad and then the author puts forward the central argument of the thesis. In chapter two, the author presents that the eco-feminist literary criticism will be put forward which in turn sets up the theoretical foundation for the close text critique of Gone with the Wind. In Chapter Three, the author will focus on the three kinds of links (symbolic, experiential, status) in Gone with the Wind. In Chapter Four, the author will focus on their mutual dependence---females are caretakers of nature while nature is the haven for females, house is the Eco-feminist ideal of the apartment.
The conclusion summarizes the view of this thesis and suggests that Gone with the Wind should be taken as a potential target of Eco-feministic studies, and expects to provide inspiration to other scholars to apply this approach in the study and analysis of other works.#p#分页标题#e#
Key Words: Eco-feminism; females; nature; house; intertwined relationship
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….…………… … 1
Chapter One LITERATURE REVIEW… …………………… ………………….…………….3
1.1 Margaret Mitchell and Gone with theWind …………...……………………….………… 3
1.2 The Studies Gone with the Wind at Abroad and Home……………………….…………..3
Chapter Two THEORY OF ECO-FEMINISM…………………………….…………………6
2.1 The Introduction to Eco-feminism………………………………………………………6
2.2 The Eco-feminism Literary………………………………………………………………7
Chapter Three NATURE AND FEMALES……………………………………………………12
3.1 The Symbolic Links Between Nature and Females……………………………………12
3.1.1 The Feminized Nature……………………………………………………………12
3.1.2 The Naturalized Female……………………………………………………………16
3.2 The Experiential Links Between Nature and Female……………………………………18
3.2.1 Female had the Hard Experiences……………………………………………………19
3.2.2 Nature had the Hard Experiences……………………………………………………20#p#分页标题#e#
3.2.3 Female and Nature had the Hard Experiences………………………………………21
3.3 The Social Status Links Between Nature and Female ……… …………………………22
3.4 A Brief Summing-Up……………………………………………………………………22
Chapter Four House and Females…………………………………………………………24
4.1 The Caretaker of Houses – Female………………………………………………………24
4.1.1 Female is the Manager of the House Before the War ………………………………24
4.1.2Female is the Caretaker Of the House During the War ………………………………25
4.1.3 Female is the Caretaker of the Houses after the War … …………… ……………… 33
4.2 The Haven for female – House………………………………………… ………………25
4.2.1 Houses Illustrating Females’ Beauty and Traits……………………………………25
4.2.2 Houses Conveying Females’ Feelings………………………………………………26
4.2.3 House Representing the Haven for female ……… …………………………… ……33
4.3 A Brief Summing-Up……………………………………………………………………44
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………….…………28
WORKS CITED…………………………………………………………………………...……29#p#分页标题#e#
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………30
INTRODUCTION
Gone with the wind is one of the Margaret Mitchell popular novels. In the article describes Scarlett’s courage to throw her long-standing morality and tradition that faced with difficulties.
The American novel Gone with the Wind indicates that nature and females are intertwined and closely related. Women become careful protectors to nature, and nature turns out to be a haven for women, they comfort each other and depend on each other. It reveals the awaking and rise of women in difficulty and the close contact with nature by building the female image Scarlett, and ultimately reflects the author’s awareness of eco-feminism.
There are four chapters in article. The first chapter is literature review, it mainly introduces the Margaret Mitchell and her famous work Gone with the Wind, and the studies on Gone with the Wind at abroad and home. The second chapter is theory of Eco-feminism, it tells the introduction to Eco-feminism and the Eco-feminism literary. The third chapter is nature and females; it is supported by three parts. Part one is the symbolic links between nature and females, including the nature is feminized and the female is natured. Part two is the experiential link between nature and female, including the hardships experienced by female, the hardships experience by nature and the hardship-loss of fertility-experienced by female and nature. Part three is the status links between nature and female, and then a brief summing-up to be a conclusion. The fourth chapter is houses and females; it is described by two parts. Part one is the caretaker of house-female, including the manager of the house before the war-female, the caretaker of the house during the war-female and the caretaker of the house after the war-female. Part two is the haven for female-house, including houses illustrating females’ beauty and traits, houses conveying females’ feelings and the houses representing the haven for female, and the a brief summing-up to be an ending.
Chapter One LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Margaret Mitchell and Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949) was born in Atl anta. She is the author of the enormously popular novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her mother—Mary Isabelle “Maybelle” Stephens—was a suffragist by stories about old Atlanta Historical Society. When she was young, Margaret Mitchell was interested in stories about old Atlanta and the battles that taken place there during the American Civil War. In her youth, Mitchell adopted her mother’s feminist leanings which were in contradiction with her father’s conservation. From 1926 to 1929, Margaret wrote Gone with the Wind, which is fighted with the background of the American Civil War of 1861-1865, about which she had heard so much. As a novel of a thousand pages and one of the greatest love stories ever written, Gone with the Wind was compared with Tolstoy’s War and Peace. When it was published, Mitchell’s book not only broke sales records but also set up a new sales record of 50,000 copies in one day and 1.5 million copies in its first year of publication, and awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.Although Gone with the Wind brought Mitchell glory and a tremendous fortune; it seemed that it had brought Margaret Mitchell little happyness. Chased by the press and public, Margaret Mitchell and her husband lived in a modest manner and seldom traveled. During the Second World War, Mitchell was not only a volunteer but also a volunteer for the American Red Cross. On August 16, 1949, Mitchell was struck by a car and died five days later in Atlanta.#p#分页标题#e#
1.2 The Studies Gone with the Wind at Abroad and Home
“Even though Gone with the Wind broke the sales records and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937, it had been neglected by critics due to some controversial questions. Despite the lack of critical attention for the very beginning period of its publication, Gone with the Wind, has never lacked the attention of the readers, it has sold 28 million copies since its publication in 1936 and has been translates into at least 30 languages worldwide. Moreover, since the 1960s, Gone with the Wind has become a focus of studies worldwide”.(Margaret D.Echoes of Barren Ground in Gone with the Wind. 1992.)
The latest studies of Margaret abroad are plentiful and fruitful. These studies mainly focus on the following aspects: firstly, the books on the relationship between Margaret Mitchell and her works have become more enormous. Julian Cranberry finished all the letters of Margaret and published them under the title of “Letter from Margaret” (2006). All these letters will introduce readers with the real language and the thoughts of Margaret, which will help us to deconstruct the false legends about Margaret Mitchell. Patrick Allen’s Margaret Mitchell, Reporter (2000), through compiling diverse columns, exposes to us the lively, knowledgeable, keenly-observed Margaret before Gone with the Wind won her fame. The books on Margaret Mitchell’s life also includes Anne Edwards’s Road to Tara: The Life of Margi ret Mitchell (1983) and Finis Farr’s Margaret Mitchell of Atlanta: the Author of Gone with the Wind (1965). Then Shakespeare’s influence on Margaret has also become a focus. In The Old and New South: Shakespeare in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (2003), Darlene Ciraulo studies Shakespeare’s influence on Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. The author argues that Margaret Mitchell uses Shakespeare to represent ideals of the Old South and the initiative of the New South. As the representative of the western culture, Shakespeare stands for the ideals of the Old South—based on the knightly spirit of the antebellum South and gentlemanly manners. However, the contradiction is the plantation aristocracy links Shakespeare with the Knight’s temperament and elegancy. In the aspect of characterization, Margaret drew from the characterization of Shakespeare; especially she used Shakespeare’s ways of characterization of Mrs. Macbeth to depict the spirit of the New South, which can be clearly seen from the ambition and unsexing of Scarlett O’Hara. Thirdly, the comparison of Gone with the Wind and other works is also a popular topic. The female protagonists are compared by some scholars (Elzbieta Olesky, 1992; Louis Rubin Jr, 1983); while some scholars make comparison between the works (Paul Picker, 1987; Richard King, 1983). In What Else Could a Southern Gentleman Do?:Rell Butler, Quentin Compson, and Miscegenation (2003), Ben Railton compares these two novels which were published in the same year. However, the comparison goes beyond the study of the genre of the works and the time of publication, it also deals with the two male protagonists, who are an epitome of the past and two opposing viewpoints of the southerners towards the past racial problems and the history.#p#分页标题#e#
Gone with the Wind is one of the most popular American novels in China. From 1940 when its first edition of the Chinese version was published, Gone with the Wind has gained an exciting reception and has been the focus of study of many scholars. In China, in the past decade, the studies of the novel have become even more prosperous and covered even wider scopes.
The aspect which attracts the focus is the study on the female protagonist of the novel—Scarlett O’Hara. Due to the complexities of the character of Scarlett, scholars study her from different aspects with various focuses. Some scholars (Xu Zhenzhong, 2004) deal with the characterization and the aesthetic values of this female protagonist, which others (Sun Yu, 2003) try to focus on the realistic aspect of this character. Some articles (Zhou Jingming, 2003) focus on the traditional consciousness of Scarlett while others (Cheng Xiaohong, 2004; Li Yangbo, 2006) try to explore the rebellious aspects of her. Some (Yu Jihong & Li; Yangrong, 2005) focus their attention on the quite contradictory qualities of this protagonist while others (Zhang Zhao, 2004) try to understand the American culture through the analysis of this protagonist.
The next aspect which attracts enormous attention is the comparison between Scarlett O’Hara with the other protagonists in the famous works. Liang Yaru (2006) compares Scarlett O’Hara with Jane Eyre. Both of these two novels--- Gone with the Wind and Jane Eyre —are filled with the authors’ own experiences of their lives, the study and analysis of these two protagonists will provide us with a better understanding of the literary images of the western literatures. Then, some scholars (Deng Bo, 2005; Deng Yufen, 2005; Jing Xingmei, 2005; Wang Liyan & Gu Shaoyang, 2003; Yang Juan, 2005) focus on Gone with the Wind from the feministic perspective.
Some scholars study Gone with the Wind from the perspective of the different images and archetypes. First, Gone with the Wind grapples with the image of a pirate who transgresses boundaries. Other people’s transgression of ideological boundaries disrupts her world and the sensibilities of those in it. In A Fresh Study of Prototype Images and the Theme of Gone with the Wind (2004), Zhang Daisheng analyzes the three primordial images of “horse”, “fire” and “earth” in Gone with the Wind. A horse is a very symbolic image. The image of the fire has two functions: destruction and purification. The image of the “earth” shows us that earth is the primordial image of the birth of human being.
To sum up, the above critical reviews on Gone with the Wind may represent the major achievements of the studies of this novel in the recent decades. These studies have effectively advanced the exploration of the novel, broadened our vision as well as deepened our comprehension of it.
Chapter Two#p#分页标题#e#
THEORY OF ECO-FEMINISM
2.1 The Introduction to Eco-feminism
Eco-feminism (ecological feminism), which came into being in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is a social and political movement which unites environmentalism and feminism. Eco-feminism is a new way of thinking about nature, politics, and spirituality. In essence, the common point of view of eco-feminists is that the domination of women and that of nature by men as humans derive from the same root or there is a close connection between the domination of nature by humans and that of women by men. The common goal of eco-feminists is liberation of women and nature.
“Eco-feminism believes that females occupy a central role in preserving nature because females, on one hand understand nature; on the other hand they are oneness with nature. Men cannot understand the terms “Mother Nature” or “Mother Earth”. Females need to use their superior insight to reveal how humans can live in harmony with each other and with nature. More recently, eco-feminism theorists have extended their analyses to consider the interconnection between sexism, the domination of nature (including animal), and also racism and social inequalities. Consequently, it is now better understood as a movement working against the interconnected oppressions of gender, race, class and nature”.( Merchant, Carolyn. The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution .1980.)
The connection between the domination of women and the domination of nature among eco-feminists is generally made first on the cultural symbolic level. One charts the way which patriarchal culture has defined women as being “closer to nature”. This is shown that women have been identified with body, earth, sex, and the flesh in its mortality.
Cultural Eco-feminism emphasizes the spiritual and cultural reasons for the oppression suffered by women and nature. It regards the changes of cultural spirit as the basic method to the liberation of women and nature. Through examining the symbolic link between women and nature in religion, theology, literature, arts and other cultural fields, cultural eco-feminists find that domination of nature and domination of women are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Therefore, they attempt to liberate nature from the domination of the patriarchal culture and they require women to find, admire and accept their true nature.
“The socialist Eco-feminism goes beneath the culture symbolic school. Socialist Eco-feminism emphasizes the social and economic causes for the oppression suffered by women and nature. It regards the changes of the social and economical system as the basic method to the liberation of women and nature. It deals with the socio-economic underpinnings of how the domination of women’s bodies and work interconnects with the exploitation of land and animals as sources of labor and wealth.#p#分页标题#e#
Philosophical eco-feminists, analyzing the inherent relationship between the dual domination of women and nature, believe that it is the concept that controls the conduct of human beings. Therefore, the domination of women and nature is governed by a common conceptual structure. The most important thing to do to emancipate women and nature is to break this kind of conceptual structure.”(Jing Xingmei.The analysis of Gone with the Wind.2005.)
The above introduction the eco-feminist theory is ecologically ethical, with a multi-cultural perspective. While inheriting the traditional theory of feminism, showing respect for differences, promoting diversity, it deconstructs the thinking of men / women, culture / nature, rational / emotional. On the other hand, it absorbs the essence of ecology, liberation of life, against the oppression and the pursuit of a holist thinking.
2.2 The Eco-feminist Literary
Eco-feministic literary criticism adopts the methods of feministic criticism and ecological feminism. Eco-feministic literary criticism, through studying the relationship between literature and nature as well as females from the perspective of nature and female, exposes the connection of the two forms of oppression in literature and reevaluates the traditional literary history and literary works from the criteria of eco-feminism.
Eco-Feminist Literary Criticism is not an accomplished literary criticism, it can even be said that it has not successfully cut into the field of literature from the cultural field, let alone, forming a complete theoretical system. In situations like this, in Feminist Literary Criticism in the West and China (2004), Luo Ting pointed out that the fundamental construction of Eco-feminist literary theory can be carried out by taking the following three aspects into consideration. The first aspect is to reveal the relationship between nature and women in literature. According to Eco-feminists, the integration of women and nature are closely linked. Such contacts consist of the following areas: symbols, experience and status. The second aspect is to read the eco-feminism texts and search for the causes of the dual domination in the literary field. Every kind of literary criticism would choose the text with rich analytic potential as targets of criticism. Not only women’s works on nature, but also the classic texts are suitable targets for eco-feminist literary criticism. The third aspect deals with the construction of eco-feminist literary theory. After carding the relationship between women and nature, digging and reading the rich eco-feminist texts, it is the “natural law” of literary activities to appreciate eco-feminism from an objective perspective. Since this thesis is only going to adopt the first aspect of the literary construction, the author is going to have a detailed explanation of the three components of this theory—the symbolic links between nature and female; the experiential links between nature and female; the literary status links between nature and female.#p#分页标题#e#
Chapter Three
NATURE AND FEMINISM
This chapter will illustrate the main theme of this novel: the links between nature and females in Gone with the Wind. As Chapter One indicates, the links between nature and females embody three aspects: the symbolic, the experiential and the social status. Each level is manifested in various ways.
3.1 The Symbolic Links between Nature and Females
In Gone with the Wind, the links between nature and females are firstly symbolic. From time to time, the earth is seen as the mother of human beings, the soft creeks are treated as quiet girls whose action is slow and gentle and the green forest is looked upon as virgin females. The females are always treated as water. They are the nature complement, represent and symbolize each other. In this novel, nature is “feminized” while females are often “naturalized”.
3.1.1 The Feminized Nature
“All the natural things in this novel possess the feminine quality, such as quietness, stillness, softness, gentleness, peacefulness and so on and so forth. Women are primitive, passive, emotional, fragile and mysterious” (Luo Ting, 2004).
Among the natural things, it is the earth that in the most obvious means represent the “feminized”. The adjective that appears the most before these words is “soft”–“… the soft red dust..” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.13); “…the soft field of Gerald O’Hara’s plantation” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.23); “the soft ground had been cut and churned by the constant flow of traffic in and out until it resembles an enormous hog wallow, and here and there vehicles are mired to the hubs in the ruts” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.141). “Softness” is the the most vivid description of the females, especially the model of the females – Ellen O’Hara, whose voice is always soft.
Scarlett lives in the gentle earth, and belongs to the red acres. Her roots go deep into the soil and her life go deep into the homeland, as does the cotton. Scarlett relies on this “mother” so much that she can gain the spirit and physical strength. Everyone knows it around her, just like what Rhett Butler comments on her after her return to Tara to recover from miscarriage:
“Sometimes I think she’s like the giant Antaeus who became stronger each time he touched Mother Earth. It doesn’t do for Scarlett to stay away too long from the patch of red mud she loves. The sight of cotton growing will do her more good than all Dr. Meade’ tonics.” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.601)
3.1.2 The Naturalized Female
From time to time, females are naturalized in Gone with the Wind. The females are seen as wind, water, earth and forest, and always regarded as simple as the natural things. Scarlett is a simple-minded person. In fact, “Scarlett was as forthright and simple as the winds that blew over Tara and the yellow river that wound about it” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.28). Therefore, Scarlett is the meek person that can understand Ashley’s mend; since anyone else can ever comprehend what Ashley is thinking. Scarlett is also a soft girl who pursuit the love of father, Gerald O’Hara. Her father possesses some vital, earthy and coarse traits. She also possesses some of qualities from her father, and the same qualities appeal her to simple and obvious, despite Ellen and Mammy tries her to obliterate them.#p#分页标题#e#
Besides Scarlett, the sweet, gentle and soft Melanie Hamilton is also a simple-minded girl, and she is fond of poems and literature. Melanie not only looks but also is “as simple as earth, as good as bread, as transparent as spring water” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.102). Despite Melanie’s plainness of feature and smallness of stature, she has a sedate dignity about her movements. Moreover, not only her whole figure possesses the natural element, even her brown seems to possess “the still gleam of a forest pool in winter when brown leaves shine up through quiet water” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.102).
In addition to the natural things such as forest, earth and water, females are also “naturalized” as plants and animals. When Grandma Fontaine tries her best to tell Scarlett the secret of survival, Grandma makes a vivid explanation between females and buckwheat. To Grandma, females possess the flexibility and spirit strength to prevent them to break the difficulties. At the same time, when females are strong enough, they can hold the oppportunities to fight against.
In Gone with the Wind, many females are also similar to animals to be “naturalized”. The Tatleton girls are as unruly as colts and wild as March hares. Moreover, When the females are regarded as animals, sometimes from their appwarances to describe. To Scarlett, her maid Prissy is a is a brown creature, with skinny legs like a bird. To Scarlett, Honey Wilkes “had the odd lash-less look of a rabbit” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.96).
3.2 The Experiential Links between Nature and Female
Besides the symbolic links between nature and females in Gone with the Wind, the links between these two also cover the aspect of experience. The hardships and humiliation suffered by women and nature in patriarchal societies are experiential links between nature and female in literature. In this novel, both females and nature have gone through many hardships—the fertile fields have been stripped, horses and cattle stolen, houses burned old men and boys dragged off to prison and women and children turned out to starve. The worst of these hardships is that nature and females have gone through the process from fertility to barrenness.
3.2.1 Female had the Hard Experiences
In Gone with the Wind, the females experience all kinds of hardships – family members separated; making contribution to the war responsible, injury and poverty. The hardships fall into the worst during the war and the period of Reconstruction. During the war times, the females are first lost their most beloved persons. There is hardly a family in town that has not sent away a son, a brother, a father, a lover, a husband to the battle. What makes things worse is that most of these men sacrifice in the battlefield, leave the females with broken hearts—mothers become sonless (e.g. Mrs. Tarleton lost her four sons), wives turn into widows (e.g. Scarlett become a widow soon after the war broke out and Charles died on the battlefield) or remain to be life-long spinsters (e.g. India Wilkes who had no one to marry, could only live with her brother Ashley Wilkes). Then, females are taken many other responsibilities by the war besides managing their own household. After the war, the females have to conquer the hardships such as hunger “…the world outside receded before the demands of empty and half-empty stomachs and life resolved itself into two related thoughts, food and how to get it” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.420) and poverty and they have to carry on the responsibilities of taking care and reconstructing shattered places. Then, during the Reconstruction period, females have to deal with something about severe spiritual hardships such as their best loved relatives sepearated(e.g. Scarlett loses her father and her daughter Bonnie Blue Butler); the damage caused by miscarriage (e.g. Scarlett who falls down from the stairs and loses her unborn child); the heart-broken loss of love (e.g. Scarlett who finally comes to realize that it is not Ashley but Rhett who she has loved truly and deeply after the death of Melanie, yet Rhett decides to leave her).#p#分页标题#e#
3.2.2 Nature had the Hard Experiences
In comparison to the females, in Gone with the Wind the nature has also survive tremendous hardships. All the natural things such as plants, animals, earth, plantations and houses are savagely destroyed. The trees and grass of the lawn are cut into pieces. The rose beds have been destroyed. Around the garden some split-rail fence has been destoryed and the orderly green plants have been suffered the same treatment at Tara—a lot of plants are eaten by the Northern soldiers’ horse. The vegetables are mashed into the soil. The leaves of the oaks are brown from fire and the branches of them are burned and scorched. Other old trees are dying from fire. In the countryside, there will hardly be seen a head of livestock. All the animals such as cows, horse, mules, and the chickens are eaten or killed by the Northern soldiers. Furthermore, the animals are discarded on the road.
All the houses have either been severely destroyed or been completely ruined. The Mallory’s old white house is destoryed very badly so that there are few foundation stones and two chimneys. The Tarleton house is burned to the foundations, and the Munroe house near Lovejoy is leveled too. What was worse that some somkehouse, barns and animals houses have been destoryed.
3.2.3 Female and Nature had the Hard Experiences
It seems that there is nothing in common among the hardships females and nature has gone through. Yet, the facts are not like that, actually there is one hardship that both of them have suffered and the damage which is the severest is the loss of fertility of females and nature.
During the war time, the hooves have shattered and burned the field so that the cannon and the fire loses its original fertility. Before the war takes place, the moist hungry earth, waits upturned for the seeds. Then, the thousands of fertile acres cover with the green cotton. At that time, the land can produce cotton abundantly. Yet after the war, almost all the plantations have been destoryed and the fertile grounds disappear. If we want to see the plantation like before, it is about fifty years or more. Because of the war the field has lost its fertility. In comparison with the field, the females also lose their fertility. Melanie Hamilton is one of the female representatives for those who lose their fertility. The time when she is going to give birth to a child, Atlanta is being occupied by the enemy and all the women have gone to other places to take refuge. The only doctor left in the city is too busy curing the swarms of wounded soldiers to come to offer help. Under such situation, Scarlett tries her best to help Melanie, yet her help turns out to be more harmful than helpful, since Melanie will not have a child forever. Melanie loses her fertility. The war kills many men, turning many married females into widows (Sally, Young Miss) and many girls (India Wilkes) into spinsters. In a sense, these women have also been deprived of their fertility. In a word, females and nature have been deprived of their most precious ability.#p#分页标题#e#
3.3 The Social Status Links between Nature and Female
In Gone with the Wind, though the protagonists are females, yet they don’t like any high social status. In fact, the men occupy the power, and through the social status can represent the background of human activities.
In the novel, the females don’t pursue any high social status. At the time when the story occurs, the world belongs to the men. At that time, it is the important duty to get married as a girl. In order to carry out this duty, girls are impressed by their mothers of the necessity of being helpless, clinging creature. Young girls must possess the traits such that sweet, gentle, beautiful and ornamental. They live very tired, for example they have to pretend that they can only eat very little at any party no matter how many delicious food there are; when they are dancing, they must pretend how frail and gentle; and above all, they have to express how simpleminded and hide their intelligence, so that the men can possess the confidence,and how high social status they own. Girls don’t like to some higher status. Yet they have higher position than married women. Girls can possess the love from some handsome boys, the taken care from their mother and father. However, married women have to hold houses, look after the children and do their best to make their husband happiness, and they cannot express any sorrow on their face no matter how hard they are. “Ellen’s tired mouth smiled into the tumult as she addressed herself first to her husband, as a wife should” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.68). No matter how boring and how unconcerned their husbands’ talks are to the females, they have to give their husbands the pleasure to express their view. All in all, women’s life is not easy, let alone happy.
The females in the novel do not possess any power, nor does nature in this novel possess any high social status in men’s mind. To the men, nature is just the field for their activities, such as hunting, holding barbecue on the grassland, horse-racing. To the men, nature is just nature – they pay no attention to its beauty, neither can they perceive its losses. To the men, nature will never be a thing that they will fight for. They can fight wars for money or for honor, but they will never fight wars for nature, which is completely different from females. Besides the fact that, to the men, nature is not important enough to fight for, they damage and ruin nature to their will. Just like what we have discussed in the previous part, nature has gone through many hardships—they have been severely damaged and ruined. All the natural things such as plants, animals, earth, plantations and houses are savagely destroyed. Besides the plants and animals, the soil has been treated horribly – the soil is churned up where hooves and wheels and feet have torn frantically back and forth. Worse still, the land has been deprived of its fertility. The plantation is in worse state than the soil. All the houses have either been severely destroyed or been completely ruined. All these damages manifest the fact that nature does not possess any social status in men’s world since men never regard nature as things with life. Whereas, nature possess life in the eyes of females since both females and nature are in the domination of men. Females, whose happiness and sorrows are clearly manifested in the scenery of nature, are part of nature. Nature, on the other hand, is the closest thing to females who in turn can perceive nature’s feelings.#p#分页标题#e#
3.4 A Brief Summing-Up
The above analysis of the links between nature and females indicates that the relationship between nature and females are not only close but also covers various aspects – the symbolic, experiential and social status. From the symbolic links, one can discover that in Gone with the Wind, nature is often “feminized” by the female characteristics, such as tenderness, mysteriousness, savageness, peacefulness and placidness. While on the other hand, females are often “naturalized” with the natural characteristics, such as simplicity (as earth), transparency (as water) and enduring ability (as buckwheat). What’s more, females are even compared to animals to be belittled. As to the experiential links between nature and females, one can discover that both females and nature have gone through various hardships and the worst hardship that both have experienced is the loss of fertility. Finally, as to the positional links, it is not hard to discover that nature and females do not enjoy any high status in the society during the time when the story takes place. Females, no matter what their ages are, are in submissive position to men while nature, mainly serves as the field of human beings’ activities, is destroyed and damaged to one’s will.
Therefore, due to the fact that both nature and females are in the domination of men, and nature and females in this novel are so closely related, they really have to and can only find comfort and support in each other. Due to their symbolic, experiential and status links, they become more and more mutually dependent and supportive – females become the caretaker of nature and nature becomes the refuge haven for females. This is what we are going to focus on in the coming chapter.
Chapter Four
HOUSE AND FEMINISM
4.1 The Caretaker of Houses – Female
In Gone with the Wind, there is a great deal of houses such as different styles, sizes and locations from each other. No matter what form, how large and where the houses are, they are closely related to the female characters, especially the mistresses since they are well cared for by them. No matter what happens to the houses, it is always the home of women. Females attend to these houses and never have an idea about selling or abandoning them, because the houses are regarded as shelter and security.
4.1.1 Female is the Manager of the House before the War
Before the war hanppened, when the story takes place, a great many of females are required by the society. Before marriage, young girls must possess some attractive traits such as being sweet, beautiful, soft and ornamental. After marriage, they have to be trained and manage the households, no matter they are black or white. Therefore, there no wonder that females are the managers of the houses. If females want to be wo good manager, they not only have to train, but also work hard from morning till midnight everyday.#p#分页标题#e#
Ellen O’Hara is the manager of the households, and she bring the house order, beauty and attractive. Gerald O’Hara has high diligence and intelligence. She built a big plantation so called Tara in the upland country of North Georgia. When Gerald has been in this place for ten years, he finds out that he needs a wife since Tara cries out for a mistress. Without a mistress, the meals have never been served on time; there are a lot of dust on the furniture and everything never in order, the life has not any exciting. Yet, on the day when Ellen – the mistress of the plantation – first comes to Tara, the place becomes transformed. She quickly brings order, dignity and grace into Gerald’s household, and she even gives Tara a beauty it has never had before. A lot of houses are rebuilt, and a great deal of architectural plans are also reseen. With Ellen’s care and attention, the homeland gains a charm that makes up for its lack of design. From the first day Ellen enters Tara, she is the real manager of this plantation.
Not only is Tara managed efficiently but all the houses are run efficiently and the women in rustling skirts also manage their servants and children as efficiently as well. Beatrice Tarleton is a busy woman, she caretakes a large cotton plantation, a hundred Negroes and eight children, and also the largest horse-breeding farm in the state as well.
4.1.2 Female is the Caretaker of the House during the War
Before the war, the reason that every mistress runs the houses as efficiently as they do is out of a sense of duty. Women want to be good household caretakers, while men idle around, playing, hunting, dancing, dringking, having parties and getting together to talik about the war. During the war, when almost all the men join the army, except for those too young or too old, only left the females to manage the household, there are the responsibility on the women’s shoulders. Managing and taking care of the houses during the war times is not as easy as before the war. Before the war, the women have to work from day to night. Although it is tired, there is nothing to worried or afraid. They have what they want, and do not need some heart sorrow, the only ability they need to possess is diligence. Whereas during the war times, the responsibilities of the females are becoming greater and harsher, they stand on the back of the men, but there is heavy responsibility on their body. Not only they manage the households but also they need to think about what they eat. All the family members need to live, and then females also to take care some injured soldiers, the heavist duty is to protect the houses from Northern soldiers’ attacking.
During the war, Ellen and Scarlett have provided refuge to all who need protection. When Scarlett does not come back to Tara, the place is the sole spiritual of Ellen. She is a thin power of strength in Tara. She has to do lots of things everyday for manageing the households. When Scarlett O’Hara comes back to Tara from Atlanta, she finds that all the things changed, father is not himself like before and her sister are all ill. In the house, only left several servents to caretake. However, the only thing that can give her a little comfort in the now shabby house, is the fact that Tara stands intact. From the very moment she arrives home, the burden of taking care of the houses, the plantation and the entire people shift onto her shoulders.#p#分页标题#e#
4.1.3 Female is the Caretaker of the Houses after the War
During the war, it is neither easy to manage the house nor to take care of the rest of the property let alone go about her duties since that endangers her life. Scarlett’s hands are calloused, blistered and roughened and her face is white, she looks strained with hollowed cheeks due to the hard labor. When the war is over and peace has been declared, it is still not easy for the Southerners to take care of the houses since the Northern soldiers who are in power now can still rob the former, starve them and even drive them out of their houses by imposing high taxes on the houses no Southerner can pay. It is especially hard for Scarlett to keep Tara from being taken away by Jonas Wilkerson who is in charge of the Bureau organized by the Federal government to take care of the ex-slaves.
In this situation, Scarlett has to sacrifice even more to protect Tara from being taken away by Jonas Wilkerson. The sacrifice goes from the physical to the moral and spiritual.
In order to get money for the taxes, Scarlett first tries her luck by going to Rhett, who is the only person that has money at the time. Although she knows that Rhett is not the marrying kind, she makes up her mind to become his mistress. This kind of sacrifice is the greatest sacrifice she has done for Tara. The very idea of becoming a man’s mistress brings her into conflict with the three most binding ties of her life, the memory of Ellen, the teaching of her religion and her love for Ashley.
But all these conflicts are resolved in the merciless coldness of her mind and her desperation. Tara is more important than anything else in the world to her. She will not leave one stone unturned in saving Tara and the family.
“It was hard to realize that Atlanta and not Tara was her permanent home now. In her desperation to obtain the tax money, no thought save Tara and the fate which threatened it had any place in her mind. Even at the moment of marriage, she had not given a thought to the fact that the price she was paying for the safety of home was permanent exile from it. Now that the deed was done, she realized this with a wave of homesickness hard to dispel. But there it was. She had made her bargain and she intended to stand by it” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.599).
Finally, in order to get money for the taxes, Scarlett starts to run business herself and even uses war convicts to save money. After marrying Frank, Scarlett gets the money for that year’s taxes. Then in order to be able to pay the coming taxes imposed on Tara every year, Scarlett has to start to operate her own business, which is unthinkable and unacceptable to all the people of her class living in the South at that time. Her smart ways of managing business, her cruel ways of using war convicts and her mean ways of engaging in business with the Northern officers results in her being isolated from Southern social life. However, Scarlett manages to ignore all these hardships as long as Tara is safe and intact.#p#分页标题#e#
4.2 The Haven for female – House
From what we have analyzed, it is not hard for us to discover that women have been the managers and caretakers of the houses at different times and women, especially Scarlett O’Hara, have suffered more than anyone else to maintain and sustain the houses. Then on way wonder why she is willing to sacrifice her moral, her religion and even her love to protect Tara from being taken away by the Scalawags—“Southerners who had turned Republican very profitably”(Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.507) and Carpetbaggers – “those Yankees who came South like buzzards after the surrender with all their worldly possessions in one carpetbag” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.507). In fact, the reasons for the females’ willingness to commit any kind of sacrifice is as follows: First, houses, which are far from being a kind of property for the women, are closely connected with women and illustrate the latter’s beauty and traits; second, most of the time, the feelings of the women are conveyed through the order and decorations and furniture in the houses; last but not least, women had a deep love of those dwellings because to them, they are haven in hard times.
4.2.1 Houses Illustrating Females’ Beauty and Traits
In Gone with the Wind, there are all kinds of houses: big, small, well-furnished or poorly maintained. No matter what style the houses are, they illustrate the different kinds of beauty possessed by the females. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes are famed throughout the Country in North Georgia for their hospitality. Their white house at Twelve Oaks has been the best showcase of their charm, dignity and generosity. The house, with tall columns, wide verandas and flat roof, not only possesses a stately beauty, but also a mellowed dignity. The house is also “beautiful as a woman is beautiful who is so sure of her charm that she can be generous and gracious to all” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.94). Aunt Pitty who lives in a house, described as small well-bred and ladylike located at the end of Peachtree Street, is just like Aunt Pitty herself, who is an old lady with good manners of miniature height. Since Aunt Pitty is an old-fashioned lady who is not very attractive, the house seems “small, pale and a trifle fusty”(Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.136) in the presence of self-assured males as is Rhett Butler.
Besides these houses, the house of Leyden, Bonnell and McLure are also good examples. The characteristics of the owners of the houses are well manifested through the description of the houses. The Leyden’s house is dignified and stately and the house of Bonnells’ is little with white columns and green blinds; and the house of the McLure family, which is behind its low box hedges, is close-lipped red-brick Georgian home.
4.2.2 Houses Conveying Females’ Feelings
Houses in this novel not only portray females’ beauty and characteristics, but also their feelings. Most of the time, the houses and the articles in the houses reflect by the humans living there, which express their needs, feelings, sorrows and happiness. This method of subjectifying the houses, not only intensifies the effect of expressing the feelings of the females, but also strengthens the argument that females and houses have a close relationship.#p#分页标题#e#
Feminine emotions are expressed through the houses which reflect these emotions. After Scarlett fails to make Ashley change his mind to marry her instead of Melanie, and in vengeance, after she agrees to marry Charles Hamilton – Melanies’ brother, Scarlett finds that everyone at Twelve Oaks is indifferent to her. Of these things, the one which hurts her the most is the house. Since Ashley will never carry her over the threshold as his bride, the white house with its tall columns seems to withdraw with dignified aloofness from her. After Atlanta is invaded and Scarlett comes back to Tara, she finds that Tara, which stretches before her in the faint light of the rising moon, is “like a body bleeding under her eyes, like her own body, slowly bleeding”(Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.410). To the women, not only the house itself can express their feelings, but, everything in the house has the same function. After Scarlett comes back to Tara and all the struggling, Tara encounters the Northern soldiers’ invasion another time. Before the soldiers arrive, Scarlett reacts and orders all the people to take food, living stock and portable stuff and leave the house. Before Scarlett leaves, she catches a glimpse of the articles of the furniture in the house, and what makes her miserable is that these articles of furniture seem to whisper “Good-bye! Good-bye”.
4.2.3 The Haven for Female – Houses
Whenever the women are in trouble, the first place they think of going are the houses where they can find comfort and security behind the closed doors. To them, houses not only protect them against all kinds of danger, but also serve as their spiritual haven.
First, houses protect the women against danger. At the very beginning of the story, when Scarlett is bored with the Tarleton twins’ discussion of war, the place she threatens to go to hide her is the house. “If you say ‘war’ just once more, I’ll go in the house and shut the door”(Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.7). Then, the night when Atlanta is invaded and fired on by the Northern soldiers, while Scarlett tries to get back to Tara, the horrible sight of fire and flames is hell. While Scarlett and Ashley are hugging each other at the mill more out of comfort than love, they are seen and misunderstood by India Wilkes. Scarlett gets so frightened that she immediately goes back to her house and locks herself in her room. At that moment, the house is the most secure place to her and it is also the only place to protect her from the approaching troubles.
Second, houses were spiritual havens for women. During wartimes, Tara gives Scarlett spiritual support. After the war, during times of hardships and losses, Tara is the spiritual fountain where women can gain strength and renew the hope of life. When Scarlett gets back to Tara from Atlanta, everything is different – her mother gone, her father is senile from shock, money, negroes, security and position vanish overnight. The only thing left which sustains her all through the troubles is Tara. When Scarlett suffers from a miscarriage and when she loses her best-loved child – Bonnie Blue Butler, Scarlett at Tara, gets back her strength and vitality again. Finally, at the end of the novel, when Melanie dies and Scarlett finds out that the person she truly loves is Rhlett. When she finally gets back home through mist and fog to want to make a new beginning with Rhett, she is confronted with the harsh reality that Rhett is leaving her. In desperation, it is returning to Tara that gives her hope and power to go on with her life.#p#分页标题#e#
“She thought of Tara and it was as if a gentle cool hand were stealing over her heart. She could see the white house glearning welcome to her through the reddening autumn leaves, feel the quiet hush of the country twilight coming down over her like a benediction, feel the dews failing on the acres of green bushes starred with fleecy white, see the raw color of the red earth and the dismal dark beauty of the pines on the rolling hills” (Gone with the Wind. 1964. p.1010).
4.3 A Brief Summing-Up
There are many times house images in Gone with the Wind. There is no doubt that house is the symbolic of women independent. There are mysterious contact between women, houses and nature. Through the interpretation of the images to the house, the survival of mankind and the houses of mankind are all attributable to the natural. It aimed to build a vale of nature, green and sustainable. Eco-feminist house is the ideal of the apartment.
Conclusion
As the above discussion indicates, Gone with the Wind first vividly illustrates the close links between nature and women. As can be seen from the analyses, the links between nature and women are not only symbolic, experience but also social status. The symbolic links are shown through the fact that nature is “feminized” in this novel white females are “naturalized”. The experiential links are illustrated through the various kinds of hardships. The status links are manifested through their status in society, especially the different status of the women, and the marginalized status of nature. Furthermore, the relationship between nature and women goes deeper than the links, since they are not only interrelated, but also are mutually dependent. Females are managers of nature (houses, in particular) in times of peace; and protectors of nature in times of war; caretakers and redevelopers in times of Reconstruction. On the other hand, nature illustrates the beauty and trait of women; nature illustrates and implicitly conveys the feelings of women; and last but not least, nature serves as the haven for women in all times, before the war, during the war and after the war, From these analyses, it is obvious that nature and women are mutually complementary, represented and symbolized in this novel. Furthermore, women are careful attendants of nature, and nature is a haven for women, they comfort and rely on each other.
Gone with the Wind also turns out to be a valuable target to be studied and analyzed from the eco-feministic perspective. Eco-feminist literary criticism should focus on the text with rich analytic potential as targets of criticism – not only women’s works on nature, but also the classic texts are suitable targets.
In conclusion, this paper is not the complete analysis of the relationship between nature and women. In fact, the relationship between the other components of nature (such as light) and females could also be further studied and analyzed. Yet due to limited time and space, the author is not going to further the analysis of the relationship between light and females in this paper. With the hope that in the future it will become the author’s potential object of study.#p#分页标题#e#
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On the completion of my thesis, I should like to express my deepest gratitude to all those whose kindness and advice have made this work possible.
I am greatly indebted to my tutor Professor Li Aihua who gave me valuable instructions, and urged me to begin my research work as soon as possible. His effective advice, shrewd comments and quick corrections have kept the thesis in the right direction.
I am grateful to Professor …, Professor …, Professor … and Professor … of … University. They have improved me in language and in research methodology and have shown me into the fascinating world of English literature and western culture.
My gratitude is to my … who constantly encouraged me when I felt frustrated with this dissertation. I am grateful for his constructive suggestions and careful reading of the manuscript.
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