Analysis Of Feminist Consciousness From The Perspective Of Existentialist Feminism

Based on Sartre's existentialist philosophy and Beauvoir's feminist theory,Beauvoir's Existentialist Feminism aims at full interpretation of women's living predicaments as well as freedom issues.It emphasizes female's transcendence over the immanence by shaking off the Other identity,and the building of subject consciousness so that female becomes a free subject who can achieve her own value.Immanence features docility,beauty,grace,passiveness,dependence and other femininity that cause females to descend to the Other who haven't or are deprived of self-consciousness and controlled in males' hands,and they are in object status and have lost their subjective personality.Therefore,Existentialist Feminism has significant implications for females in their precise analysis and positioning of Self as well as their construction of self-identity.Based on Beauvoir's Existentialist Feminism,this thesis studies the female protagonist Sudha's survival situations both financially and culturally in the novel of Sister of My Heart aiming at disclosing how Sudha transforms herself from a female in subordinate status,Other identity deprived of self-consciousness by the patriarchal society to a self-consciousness person with good qualities of independence,responsibility,pursuit of dreams and the realization of self value.The thesis is divided into six parts.Chapter One is an introduction of the research background,the purpose and methodology of the study.Then it gives a brief account of the novel of Sister of My Heart and the author as well as research at home and abroad on the novel.Chapter Two is the literature review,focusing on studying Existentialist Feminist theory's source and its research at home and abroad.Chapter Three is the theoretical foundation,focusing on “Other” and“Transcendence”.It describes females' immanent predicaments as the Other and three ways of transcendence.Chapter Four makes a detailed analysis on Sudha's living predicaments as the Other from economic and cultural aspects in the novel.Before marriage,Sudha is dependent on her family financially and her mother attempts to find a wealthy man for her gorgeous daughter.After marriage,financial dependence on her husband makes her lose the discourse power.In terms of culture,against the backdrop of the male-dominated and family-dominated culture,Sudha,living in the Otherenvironment,is a walking dead with a beautiful body.Chapter Five analyzes how Sudha has achieved her own transcendence in economy and culture from the former Other status to attain further free choice to realize her own self-value.Sudha begins to have self-consciousness.As for money,she chooses to find a job for making a living instead of turning to others for help.And facing the financial aids from other people,she learns to refuse rather than willingly accept it.In terms of the mind,she is no longer obedient.When facing choices,she outweighs her daughter over husband and lover,refusing to be male's accessory again.Chapter Six discusses the significance and limitations of the study.Through research,this paper figures out that the fundamental cause of women's Other status can be best explained by the traditional cultural system in the patriarchal society.In addition,women's self-deception and escapement from the responsibility they should shoulder are also another important reasons.This dissertation shows that as long as women remove themselves from the patriarchal culture,and set up a new ideologically system where women and men are equal “human beings”,then this problem can be solved.Therefore,this research helps arouse public's greater concern for women's liberation.At last,possible deficiencies are listed in the research process.