A Tentative Analysis Of The Gender Identity Construction Of The Protagonist In Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Jeanette Winterson plays a leading role in the British lesbian literature. She was named as one of the 20"Best of Young British Writers"by the literary magazine Granta. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (hereinafter referred as Oranges for short) is Jeanette Winterson's semi-autobiographical novel and it wins the Whitbread Best First Novel Award of 1985. The protagonist of this novel shares Winterson's name, Jeanette. From a little girl with no sense of gender identity, she gradually grows into a brave new woman with integrity of personality.Gender exists as long as life does. There have been endless discussions on the topic of sex and gender identity. Oranges does not only focus on the special social group of lesbians, but also show care of each individual labeled by gender. By reading this novel, readers can re-recognize the process of their own gender identity construction.This thesis interprets Oranges from the perspective of gender identity construction. It analyzes the internal and external causes of the protagonist's gender identity, points out the conflicts between her gender identity and the religion power and traditional culture, and reveals the protagonist's escape in both internal and external worlds to look for self-liberation. The protagonist thoroughly sticks to be herself, and she gets accepted finally and gains the integrity of personality. By showing the whole process of the protagonist's gender identity construction, this thesis expects the readers to be understanding instead of curious, to be tolerant instead of discriminatory, and aims to make a beneficial research of the gender politics and the complicated emotions among women.