To Unveil The "Feminine Mystique"

In the 1960s, Betty Friedan, the forerunner of the contemporary American women's movements, put forward her feminist theory of the "feminine mystique". She pointed out that, since the industrialization and urbanization of American society, women were offered the "feminine mystique", a pattern of social conditioning that restricted feminine development to the traditionally sanctioned role of housewife and mother. Friedan encouraged women to win the space for their self growth and self-realization by treating the family and job harmoniously. But she didn't advocate the absolute sex equality. Nor did she emphasize special enabling legislations. Sharply contrasting with the coetaneous radical feminism, which asks for a direct fight with men, Friedan's theory is regarded as the moderate feminism.In 2000, John Updike, one of the greatest realistic writers in the late 20th century in America, published Gertrude and Claudius. He recomposes the ancient story about the prince's revenge in Shakespeare's great tragedy Hamlet and makes it a modern family story about love, marriage and sexual relationship. The story embodies Updike's reflection on women's problem and the reasonable relationship between men and women. In Gertrude and Claudius, Gertrude's vivid image of a modern female with the strong consciousness of independence is distinct from the gloomy image of the wanton in Hamlet.In this thesis, the process of Gertrude's self growth is analyzed in detail. From a carefree girl with the independent personality to a housewife only circling around her husband and son, Gertrude gradually loses her self and falls deep into different anxieties. The intervention of Claudius turns the scale. His love and respect arouse Gertrude's consciousness of independence, which drives her to regain her lost self and eventually leads to her self-realization. Gertrude's experience is like what American women encounter under the influence of the "feminine mystique". Through the detailed analyses, this thesis tends to expose that Updike's creation of the new image of "Gertrude" is just the literary embodiment of Friedan's feminist theory of the "feminine mystique".