Social Customs And Literary Narrative

Modern idea of free marriage that is based on democracy, equality, and liberty of contract was adopted and positively imitated by modern intellectuals since its coming into China at the beginning of last century. As one kind of social custom, just like any others, "divorce" was quickly coming into the ken of modern writers. Paying too much attention on this brand-new field of art. writers of modern idea produced a large amount of "divorce" stories displaying changing marriage. With new concept of marriage, writers looked on the changing social custom, gave modem Chinese manifest awareness of oneself and inflexible spirit of fighting. Under the circumstance of severe collision between tradition and modernity, individual and society, feeling and reason, modern writers did creative and imaginative narrate on the divorce itself, facing changing marriage, modern Chinese in transitive period would encounter many kinds of difficulties. In these "divorce" stories, modern writers deeply revealed the embarrassed living situation of modern Chinese just by describing their bitter experiences. In the time of displaying the richness and complexness of modern Chinese' tragic destiny, modern writers revealed the reason why the tragic destiny was caused and reconsidered the traditional culture in view of the divorce. This dissertation consists three chapters.Chapter 1, changing marriage custom and modern Chinese "divorce" stories. Emphasizing on the rules of divorce, it narrates the changing history of marriage. Facing the culture shock between modem concept, new marriage law and old ones,the federal marriage system would surely cause some reform. Modern Chinese which were living under specific social circumstance would undoubtedly experience many suffering, this chapter reveals the social reason why the tragic destiny was caused no matter what they did, no matter how fiercely they fought against the federal system. Chapter 2, modern Chinese "divorce" stories and modern Chinese' embarrassed life. This chapter reveals how the modern divorce stories displayed the modern Chinese' suffering living condition and how the modern writers produced these classic works by creative and imaginative art thinking on the specific social custom, divorce itself. When dealing with the changing marriage, modern Chinese would face the collisions between tradition and modernity, individual and others, individual and society, feeling and reason. The contradiction between tradition and modernity is the deep social reason of the characters' tragic destiny, and modern Chinese' dual personality is the reason coming form themselves.Chapters, analyze the meaning of modem Chinese "divorce" stories. This chapter is divided into three parts in order to clarify the meaning of art and sociology. Modern "divorce" stories were the products by creatively and imaginatively narrating the custom of divorce itself, and different writer would choose different narrative method owing to their individual likes and dislikes. Modem writers displayed women' tragic destiny by taking a sympathetic attitude on their lives, and bring light to their awareness of women themselves, further more created a desolate and helpless human nature. Modern Chinese were malformed just because they were living in the specific situation when tradition and modernity were interweaving fiercely. Their miserable destiny couldn't escape and their fighting against tradition was doomed to be senseless. Modern writers reconsidered the traditional culture by imaginative narrative on the custom of divorce, thus reflected their culture concept and deep thinking on life wisdom.