The Acceptance Of Simone De Beauvoir's Novels In China

Simone de Beauvoir is one of the most important intellectuals in the French literary and cultural history of the 20th century.She is a talented writer of its name.Her four novels are all texts in which she asserted her talent in the literary field.Published in 1954,The Mandarins won her France's highest literary prize,the Goncourt prize.Her literary talent has been fully affirmed by the French literary world and ordinary readers.In addition,the Jerusalem Prize for the freedom of individuals in society was awarded to her in 1975.The Austrian State Prize for the European Literature was also awarded to Beauvoir in 1978.French President Mitterrand once called Beauvoir "the most outstanding female writer in France and in the world".However,in China,what is the most concerned is Beauvoir's monograph The Second Sex,followed by her personal love life.The achievements and values of Beauvoir as a writer are still not widely recognized and praised in China.This thesis examines her four novels,reveals the situation of the reception of her novels in China,aims to analyze,from the angle of text and readers,based on the aesthetic reception by the Constance School led by Jauss and Iser,the factors that affect the reception,and imagine the perspective of the reception of Beauvoir's novels in China in the future.Firstly,this thesis gives an introduction of the aesthetic reception by the Constance School which forms a theoretical frame of the analysis of the reception of Beauvoir's novels in China in the following chapters.According to the theory of reception,the meaning of the text is not fixed;it's derived from the dynamic process of reading which needs the active participation of readers.The "reaction" and the interpretation of the text by readers may change with their cultural background,their experience,and the socio-cultural environment.Therefore,there may be a different effect of reception from the same text in different countries.It's necessary to analyze these factors,the text itself,the socio-cultural environment of China and the cultural background and the experience of Chinese readers for the study of the reception of Beauvoir's novels in China.The first chapter gives a summarization of her four novels,analyze the themes and methods in her novels.The common themes in her novels:firstly,the relationship between self and others;secondly,the freedom of choice;thirdly,the situation of women.Beauvoir's usual writing methods include dialogue,inner monologue and stream of consciousness.The second chapter reveals the situation of translation and reception of her novels in China,and analyses the factors that cause the situation of the reception.The evaluation of Beauvoir's novels from Chinese scholars has shown a confrontation between support and criticism.With these opposite views,based on the aesthetic reception,from the aspect of the text and Chinese socio-cultural environment and the experience of readers,the factors that cause this cold reception are summarized:firstly,there are not enough translations of her novels,plus her writing methods are inner monologue and stream of consciousness and thus impacted the effect of reading and reception;secondly,her literary themes do not fully meet the aesthetic motivation of Chinese general readers;thirdly,her novels are not fully consistent with the mainstream values in current socio-cultural environment of China.The third chapter discusses the possibility and the necessity of a better reception of Beauvoir's novels in China in the future.According to the theory of aesthetic reception,reading is a historical process,reception is a diachronic behavior,so the meaning of the text is not fixed,and there might be different effects of understanding and reception of the same text for readers from different times.As time goes,the environment and the situation of readers may be changed,so does the effect of understanding and reception of the same text.Her novels might be well received in the future.Besides,it's necessary that her novels full of humane and feminine care are widely spread and understood in China in the future.This thesis has come to the final conclusion:the writing themes and methods of Beauvoir's novels don't correspond with factors such as the current socio-cultural environment of China and the aesthetic motivation of Chinese readers,so it's difficult to gain the attention of Chinese general readers.However,whether from a theoretical or practical point of view,it's possible that her novels will be widely spread and recognized in China in the future.This study about the reception of Beauvoir's novels in China,is actually also a thinking about the interaction between the role of society in literature and the role of literature in society.There is a practical significance for Chinese readers in the cultural globalization to ponder the human existence during the reading et reception of French literature and even the whole world literature.