An Ecofeminist Reading Of Tess Of The D'Urbervilles And The Border Town

Tess of the D'Urbervilles and The Border Town are the representative works of British writer Thomas Hardy and Chinese writer Shen Congwen. In recent year, with ecofeminism receiving recognition in literary criticism, some critics and scholars have interpreted the two novels in the light of ecofeminism. However, few articles make comparisons between the two novels. This thesis is intended to apply ecofeminism to analyze them in the framework of parallel studies. By making comparative study between the two novels, the thesis attempts to reread them and give new insight into the two novels.The thesis consists of three parts:Introduction, main body and Conclusion.The introduction presents the critical studies of the two works from various perspectives both at home and abroad, the research questions and significance of this thesis.Main body includes three chapters. Chapter One is a theoretical introduction, including ecofeminism, ecofeminist literary criticism, and parallel studies. Chapter Two is aimed to elaborate on the similarities of two novels from the perspective of ecofeminism in the framework of parallel studies. Both novels permeate description of natural beauty, the common pursuit of harmony between nature and humans, and the similar understanding of close links between women and nature. Chapter Three mainly deals with the differences. Based on textual analysis, the two writers'different views on ecofeminism can be easily detected. Their differences are embodied in the heroines'different attitudes towards patriarchal oppression, the different tragedy intensity of two works and the two different types of the ideal worlds which Hardy and Shen Congwen constructed.The rereading of the two novels from the perspective of ecofeminism shows that the main ideas reflected in them is beyond the writers' own era. Both novels are concerned about environment and female and criticize patriarchy and the process of industrialization which injured nature and women. Both novels end in tragedy, which indicates the two writers'discontent with the system of male-dominated society and their similar strong consciousness of ecofeminism.The research significance of this thesis lies in that:based on the parallel studies of the two novels to analyze their similarities and differences, the thesis gives a deep exploration into the social, cultural factors and the writers'preference hidden beneath those similarities and differences. Meanwhile, it helps make people take a close look on themselves by reading "others", think about the present situation full of various crises, thus pushing people to reflect on the reality.