Looking For Eve

Chinese woman literary history in the 20th century actually expresses a process that Chinese women were approbation and exploration for their subjective position continuously as literary creation subject and speech subject in literature. It is also a process of Chinese women's self-emancipate and growth. Seen from the angle of female doctrine, not all women writers' works are real "woman writing". "Writing yourself, your body must be heard" written by Ellena·Sisu who is the founder of the theory of "woman writing", has become a famous dictum of "woman writing". Two movements of woman literary creation were initiated in literary circles of the 20th century, One is woman literature of the period of the May 4th Movement at the beginning of the 20th century, the other is woman literature in the 1990s. During the period of the May 4th Movement, besides some woman works gave attention to the national affairs, others gave attention to themselves and wrote "autobiography" novels on the basis of their experiences. It is the "autobiography" novels that we regard as real "woman works". Women writers' "autobiography" novels in the 1990s had truly put Sisu's theory into practice. Moreover, the feminine liberation is regarded as one of the important surveyor's rods to measure the modern social civilization degrees. With the convene World Woman Conference, the vigorous growth of "female literary creation and the deepening of the feminine liberation cause. On the one hand, the study of female literature is becoming increasingly a new question about the social progress and human civilization, and, the other hand the hot spots of literary circles. The reason I select the "autobiography" novels of the women writers in the period of the May 4th Movement and the "autobiography" novels of the women writers in the 1990s as the object of study is that I think the "autobiography" novels of the two periods are real "woman works" from the angle of female doctrine, they themselves are literary creation subjects and speech subjects. So the study is of advantage for the understanding woman more directly, more real and more deeply, then the most important thing is that there is seldom related study, this dissertation could offer a new angle of view for our understanding the woman literature, last, the exploratory is of far-reaching current significant for the promotion of the feminine liberation cause and evolving the related policies.Based on reading the "autobiography" novels of the two periods and current research achievements, the author studies by using the comparison method and combined with the related Western feminine theories and China's actual conditions.First makes definite about the object of study and the rang of study. The author first introduces their status in the woman literary history. Then, the author gives an overview of works devoted to the "autobiography" novels of the two periods at home and abroad. Last probes into the theoretical and current significance and the author's train of thought.Next the author expounds the "autobiography" novels necessarily by using the positive method and a host of resources, then takes a critical analysis of the female consciousness of the two periods, approaches how to answer the question "what is woman?" and the cause of the different answers. last, offers discussion and thinking on the problem involving in the "autobiography" novels.