| E.M.Forster(1879-1980)is one of the most famous novelists in the history of English literature.His first novel,Where Angels Fear to Tread(1905),vividly reproduces the living situation of women in the Edwardian era.Since its publication,it has been widely concerned by readers and critics,and has caused a big stir in the literary world.The novel was adapted for the screen in 1992,which has helped make the novel more widely known and its author more popular.Many scholars and critics at home and abroad have done a substantial number of researches on this novel.They mainly analyze the novel from such perspectives as writing techniques,homosexuality and cultural conflicts,etc.However,no scholar has attempted to analyze the novel from the perspective of existential feminism.This thesis intends to interpret the tragic fate of the heroine Lilia in the novel from the perspective of Simone de Beauvoir’s existential feminism.As it is proved,Lilia’s tragic fate is chiefly caused by three factors.First of all,Lilia subverts traditional women’s Other image with self-consciousness and independent thoughts,which makes her unable to passively and obediently accept her fate as the second sex.Secondly,Lilia’s survival situation in the patriarchal society hinders her from realizing her subjectivity and transcendence.The unequal status of the two sexes in society and family doomed her tragic fate.Finally,Lilia’s femininity,which is shaped by the patriarchal ideology,is also a significant factor that leads to her tragedy.By analyzing Lilia’s frustrated and tragic fate,this thesis draws the conclusion that although Lilia has self-consciousness of pursuing freedom and independence,she is too weak in face of the formidable and obstinate patriarchal ideology in the Edwardian era,which is the root of her tragic fate.The image of Lilia reflects Forster’s affirmation of women’s fighting for “being-for-itself” to pursue freedom,equality and independence,and his criticism of the patriarchal society. |
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