Racine's Gender Consciousness In His Tragedies

Jean Racine is a representative of French Classicism. His plays not only portray many female images, but also analyze their subtle psychology. This has drawn sufficient attention from multitudinous critics deeply interested in Racine's female images as well as his gender consciousness. Books and articles on this by overseas scholars are numerous, but there remains much room for further discussion and evaluation of the female images and the playwright's consciousness of gender. Unfortunately however, scholarly reaction and response to this subject in China is incredibly sluggish. Given awkward phrasing, this thesis provides an intensive analytical review on such female images as depicted by Racine and accordingly uncovers and reveals the author's gender consciousness in an equally analytical manner.The introduction outlines present researches in and outside this country, proposes the methodological orientation and points out the significance of this subject. The main text includes four chapters as follows:Chapter one mainly analyzes the reason that Racine chooses females as his protagonists, referring to his life facts, the backdrop of his time and society, and the influence of the literary tradition especially from Euripides, and in addition, proposes that Racine's choice is deeply rooted in his romantic admiration and sexual worship of"Her".Chapter Two: Racine's gender consciousness is mainly manifested in his female images which may be classified into three types: aspiring, political and ideological. Through characterization, Racine firstly approves the value of feminine love, recognizes the rationality in libido, and provides a fair evaluation of their radical pursuit of love. He believes that females are able for a part in politics and their achievement is remarkable, and also affirms that the female thinking is also of rationality.Chapter three: Racine's choice of characterization is unique. He sets emotion as...