On The Women's Persistent Pursuit Of Freedom In The Golden Notebook

Since the 19th century, because of the rapid development of science and technology and strengthening of people' ability to reform the nature, people's chief part initiative and the functions of spiritual factors protrude, and so appear various kinds of theories, doctrines, views, trend of thoughts and schools. Existentialism is a trend of thought of irrationalism, it emphasizes individuals, independence and self-decision, subject experiences. The formation and development of existentialism are never an isolated issue. It mainly criticizes socially the alienation of people's way of survival caused by the capitalism development after the second world war, it has vivid time brand. It shows despair mood and contradiction psychology after the second world war and during the cold war period. It is a crisis philosophy, it supplies people with philosophical base. Sartre is one of the most active preachers of the western society. He emphasizes human being, emphasizes the individual's chief part, emphasizes the chief part's initiative choice, it has positive significance. The fundamental viewpoint of existentialism is to regard isolated individual's unrational conscious activities as the truest existence, and as the whole philosophical starting point. It claims to be a philosophy that regards human being as center and respect human being's personality and freedom. Sartre is not only a highly productive man of letters who advocates intervening reality, but also a positive social activist with vivid viewpoints. The transmission of his existentialism thoughts and mainly depends on the argument in philosophical theories, but through literature and art. In his whole life, he regards freedom and justice as standards. His existentialism should be believed as an introspection philosophy facing miseries. His philosophy can be mainly summarized as the following three points:(1) Existence precedes essence; (2) Free choice; (3) The world is fantastic. Sartre's philosophy is in fact the freedom philosophy. Freedom is the center of Sartre's whole life philosophy, and is the basic content and important component of his existentialism philosophy. A human being's freedom issue is extremely concerned in Sartre's whole life, his freedom notions are mainly the following:First, a human being is free, a human being is freedom. Second, freedom is the freedom of choice, absolute freedom is realized by choice. Third, a human being should be responsible for his free choice. Sartre closely concerns human beings'existence and freedom, and in his corresponding individual practice, he positively and boldly intervenes in the society.The existence problems of human being have shown to the contemporary people. Their spiritual living situations show that affluent modern life hasn't brought people healthy and contended spiritual condition but enslaved them. Not only have individual spirit lives fallen into an unprecedented anxious and immanent state, but also the contemporary people faced the plights of living. Eric Fromm has been keenly concerning about the conditions of living, fate, and soul of the temporary people. He concretely explained the living conditions of humankind, made an overall analysis on the existing conditions of the contemporary people, revealed the living dilemma of the contemporary people. He argues that mankind's history is just the history of pursuing freedom, the real outlet for the living plight of men should be developed toward the direction of freedom, and develop the creative activities of men. Another well-known existential philosopher Karl Jaspers cares for human existence in the modern society. He analyzed the spirit conditions of the modern people and put forward the spirit crises of the modern people.The free women in The Golden Notebook fall into plight. Though they praise themselves as free women, they are only apparent free women, limited free women, they are free women without freedom. It's just an irony on freedom. Reflecting on free women, they come to the answer of life state of gender reconciliation. The last section discusses Sartre's existentialism intervening thought, viewpoint of literature, viewpoint of love and their embodiment in free women.