Transition From Wandering To Subversion

Angela Carter (1940-92) was one of the most controversial feminist writers incontemporary literary scene as her writing handled many gender and cultural issues ina unique subversive way. This thesis will compare Angela Carter's Wise Childrenwith George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss from feminist perspective based onShowalter's "Three Phases" feminism.This thesis consists of five parts.The first part briefly introduces the study abroad and at home on Angela Carter,and then the structure of this thesis. Chapter one introduces Showalter's "three phasesof women's literary development", and concentrates on women writers' situation ofthe first and third phase, to which George Eliot and Angela Carter belong respectively.Chapter two consists of three parts. The first part is a brief introduction of GeorgeEliot and The Mill on the Floss. The second is the analysis of Maggie, from herattitudes towards love, education, and vocation. The last is the summary of thischapter, which summarizes George Eliot's feminism. Chapter three is similar tochapter two in structure, consisting of three parts too. The first part is a briefintroduction about Angela Carter and Wise Children. The second is the analysis ofDora, also from her attitudes towards love, education, and vocation. The last is thesummary of Augela Carter's feminism.The last part is conclusion. From the comparative study on Maggie and Dora,George Eliot's and Angela Carter's feminism above, it is clear that feminism hasdeveloped from wandering to subversion. Both George Eliot and Angela Carter try toachieve harmony between man and woman, but George Eliot is wandering betweenresistance and submission, at last she submits to patriarchy and Angela Carter istrying to reconstruct the contemporary heterosexual relationship by subverting thetradition.