Angel And Monster A Comparative Study Of Hester Prynne And Pan Jinlian From Feminist Literary Criticism

Feminist literary criticism is a part of today抯 feminism traceable to the revitalization of the Woman抯 Liberation Movement during the 1960s. It is a main force in modem western literary criticisms, and is full of vigour and vitality. It absorbs the cream of every school of literary critical theories to improve itself and makes itself spectacular in the literary world. Feminist literary criticism not only takes literary texts and female literature as its study objects, but more importantly, it reexamines the practice of conventional literature which has been dominated by males all through the ages. Two well-Known feminist literary critics of America, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, in their The Mad Woman in the Attic, pointed out that, in the phallocentric patriarchal culture, almost all the male writers idealized female characters into two different extremes. Either a beautiful and gentle Angel 梡ure and simple, obedient and faithful, tolerant and selfless. Patriarchy required Angel抯 existence only to please man and to set his stories, but does not allow Angel to have her own independent personality and value. Or a coquettish and cruel Monster, who takes fair means or foul to seduce man, absorb his energy till his death. Monster is the root of all disasters. During the course of creating Monster, the male writers obviously show their horror of females. However, in the eyes of feminist literary critics, the so-called 搈onster?means these women who have independent personality and thought. They are assertive and aggressive. They refuse to act the role of Angel which patriarchy has stipulated upon them, they reject male-domination and try to replace the central position of men. This is Abstract 41 the real reason of male horror toward female. This paper will use such a theory to do a further comparative study between two female characters in two classics by two male writers: one is Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous writer of America; the other is Pan Jinlian in Chin Ping Mei by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng of the Ming Dynasty in China. This is what the paper focuses on in the first chapter. In chapter two, We use the new theory of 揗onster?from the perspective of feminist literary criticism to make a re-evaluation of Pan Jinlian. Restrained by the feudal laws of stipulated polygamy which overlooked women抯 personal freedom and dignity, Jinlian becomes distorted and revengeful. She loses herselt the beauty of a 搈onster?becomes out of control and gradually evolves into the ugliness of a real monster. In chapter three, We use the point of view of 揳ngel?and 搈onster?from feminist literary criticism to make a new evaluation of Hester Prynne as well. With deep love for her lover, Hester endures humiliation and undergoes hardships alone. During the course of fostering her daughter, she becomes stronger and more independent. Hester抯 virtue of giving help to others makes her an 揳ngel? but something else deep in her heart against the male-domination makes her a 搈onster?for the patriarchal society. Chapter Four is a comparative study between Hester Prynne and Pan Jinlian. Both Hester and Jinlian are beautiful young girls, they have similar marriage tragedies and different philosophies of life. But both of them have a common femininity of yearning for autonomy, which is the beauty of 搈onster?man fears. Through the comparative study between these two fe...