Spiritual Crisis And Identity Reconstruction

Adrienne Rich(1929-2012)is considered as a distinguished poet,critic,feminist as well as social activist in contemporary America.Her literary works involve different aspects such as social issues of language,power,gender,race,class,justice.Literature interweaving with politics makes Rich break boundaries where women are weak and passive under the patriarchal domination so as to achieve her dream of transforming the world with art.Feminism which permeates in Rich‘s poetry becomes theoretical tools in critiquing the oppressive discourse mechanism,questioning the socially prescribed sexual roles and advocating the identification of the marginalized groups in the era of cultural pluralism.Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law is considered as a transitional work which represents Rich‘s ambivalence under the patriarchal institution.Diving into the Wreck further explains Rich‘s intensive desires to break away from the patriarchy and reexamine their female identities.The Dream of a Common Language is a radical extension of Adrienne Rich‘s previous collections of poetry to show women‘s determination to reconstruct their identities.Therefore,this thesis aims to conduct an in-depth discussion on the reason and manifestation of Rich‘s spiritual crisis and identity anxiety on the basis of these three collections of poetry.What‘s more,these poems reveal Rich‘s transformation of her feminist consciousness,present the process of identity reconstruction,and reflect the power of Rich‘s spirit,emotion and intelligence.This thesis consists of five parts.The first part offers a brief introduction to Adrienne Rich and her achievements,the feminist theory which provides theoretical foundation and studies on Adrienne Rich both at home and abroad.Chapter One demonstrates the dilemma in renaming female experience,which covers the two aspects of spiritual confusion and identity anxiety that Adrienne Rich confronts especially in the American mainstream.Many women who have the triple roles as wife,mother and poet attempt to escape from the patriarchal civilization,but immature voice,inner ambivalence and identity complexity make them subordinated to the male society.Chapter Two attaches importance to specific manifestation of Adrienne Rich‘s female consciousness in her poetry.Rich endeavors to explore women‘s creativity,but the tentativeness is far from being satisfactory,especially the vacillating images and the use of the third person ?she?,indicating the female are still under patriarchal oppression.Rich attempts to express her resistance to the male dominance,and her achievements show her gradually awakening female consciousness which encourages her to discuss the relationship between poetic and politics.Chapter Three makes an elaboration of women‘s quest for their identity.Rich pays attention to analyzing androgyny and sisterhood in her poetry to search for female identification.Rich‘s adoption of female language and transmutation of conventional love poems encourage her to publicize her lesbian relationship and cooperate with women to transform the patriarchal world.The conclusion depicts a summary of the whole thesis,further explaining that the issue of spiritual crisis and identity anxiety is the result of personal experience,social and history culture and theoretical context.It emphasizes Adrienne Rich‘s determination to fight against the patriarchal society so as to devote to their writing career with female language.In short,Rich‘s disloyalty to male civilization and her quest for female identification inspire more women to interpret their own dreams.Based on the detailed interpretation of Rich‘s feminism with relevant female poems,readers are provided a refreshing way to analyze Rich‘s motivation for individual actualization.Adrienne Rich‘s female poems are not only the portrayal of her individual experience in the patriarchal world but also the inspiration and encouragement for many women who have the same experiences or feelings to quest for female identification as a way to rebirth.