On The Female Ethical Problems In Margaret Laurence's Manawaka Cycle

Margaret Laurence (1926-1987) is one of the most outstanding Canadian writers. The Manawaka Cycle is Laurence's magnum opus which includes five novels: The Stone Angel, A Jest of God, The Fire-Dwellers, A Bird in the House and The Diviners. The Manawaka Cycle, with much charm and value in various aspects, involves profuse ethical factors. However, its ethical problems are rarely discussed academically. Thus, this paper tries to explore the female ethical problems in the Manawaka Cycle by applying the approach of ethical literary criticism in order to get a better understanding of it. This thesis is divided into five chapters. In chapter one the ethical background of the Manawaka Cycle is introduced from three respects: the religious and secular ethics of the western world, the ethical background of the town of Manawaka and the writer's life experiences that leave trace on her works and her ethical orientation. In chapter two the ethical problems of the five heroines are analyzed in detail. Under the oppression of patriarchy, women face the crisis of survival, which is reflected in their ethical plight of different kinds. First, this paper depicts the ethical predicaments of the protagonists, namely, Hagar, Rachel, Stacey, Vanessa and Morag, in the families and in the society. Their familial ethical problems include the predicaments of kinsfolk ethics, marriage ethics, sex ethics and inter-generation ethics, etc. Their social ethical problems include the predicaments of inter-personal ethics and justice ethics, etc. Then their struggles with the ethical plight are illustrated. Facing various ethical predicaments, they struggle in different ways and their problems are solved to some degree. Chapter three reveals the ethical orientation for women that Laurence expresses in the Manawaka Cycle. The different endings of the five heroines reflect Laurence's views in kinsfolk ethics, marriage ethics, sex ethics, inter-generation ethics, inter-personal ethics and justice ethics, etc. Laurence opposes the religious and the secular ethics that discriminate women, repress women's personality and confine women's freedom while she approves of the virtues of women advocated by the traditional religious and secular ethics. For the ethics of feminism, she approves of the opinions that advocate equality of men and women, object to sex and gender discrimination and support women's liberation while she discords the ethical views that are radical or Utopian. Chapter four shows the features and significance of Laurence's ethical orientation. Her ethical orientation reflects that she tries to keep the balance between the feminist Utopia and the reality, between freedom and responsibility, and between career and family, and this balance supports women's liberation while helps women avoid the loss of awareness of responsibility. Laurence's ethical orientation inspires Canadian literature as well as feminism. Chapter five summarizes the female ethical problems and the writer's ethical orientation and points out the significance of the Manawaka Cycle.