An Analysis Of Gender Consciousness Reflected In Ernest Hemingway's Major Works

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most celebrated writers that the American history has ever produced. He has long been known for his stoic, understated"masculine"style and his graphic description of male pursuits and male attitudes. Perhaps it is because that his characterization of"code hero"and his own masculine public image are very deep rooted in readers'mind that many critics declared that Hemingway could not depict women or that he was better at depicting men without women. Critics of his novels criticized that he was indifferent to female pursuits and sufferings; some even charged him of having a growing antagonism to women.However, after a thorough study of Hemingway's characterization and artistic features in his major works, guided by the theory of gender study, I find out that Ernest Hemingway is very conscious about gender issues in his time. Far from being a male chauvinist, he is critical of male egocentricity, selfishness and pettiness and sympathetic with female frustration and sufferings. Hemingway expresses his sympathy for women's suffering under the patriarchal culture and his appreciation to independent and intelligent New Women. Moreover, Hemingway is able to view things from the female point of view, despite of his masculine style in many novels. Under the circumstances of the gender war, Hemingway fashions an ideal of reciprocity between the sexes and pursues in his fiction for his entire career. This thesis is divided into five parts. Chapter 1 is an introduction to Ernest Hemingway's life and career and his critic reputation. This chapter also explores how Hemingway's life experience influences his art creation and his attitude toward gender issues.Chapter 2 presents the theoretic foundation of this thesis, and gives the reasons for the feasibility of studying Hemingway from gendered perspective.Chapter 3 analyzes in details Hemingway's male and female characterization. In this chapter, I find out that Hemingway is not only adept at male characterization, but his female characterization is also vivid and authentic. His typical male characters are known as"code heroes."By taking an example of Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises, the first part of the chapter gives a brief of Hemingway's"code hero". Then the chapter focuses on the analysis of Hemingway's female characterization. Hemingway's women characters are not pale"bitch","amoeba-like,"or"scarcely seems human at all", as many critics claimed. Through analyzing Brett in The Sun Also Rises, Catherine in Farewell Arms, and Maria in For Whom the Bell Tolls, we can conclude that female characters in Hemingway's novels are complex and authentic characters with their own strengths and also flaws.Chapter 4 explores Hemingway's artistic features. This chapter is also divided into two parts: the masculine artistic style and the female point of view, in order to show Hemingway's androgynous sensibility and gender consciousness. Hemingway's artistic style is very masculine: concrete, stoic, lacking in sentimental feeling and filled with hard concrete facts. At the same time, Hemingway is also able to view things from the female point of view. He can transcend his own sexual identity to accept the female elements into his sense and reveal the inside of women's experience and their own personal responses to events.Chapter 5 presents the conclusion of the thesis. Ernest Hemingway is a writer very conscious about gender issues, concerning about male world in his works and not neglecting or debasing female characters.