Submissive Or Subversive?

This dissertation has done some research work in the field of feminist critique to evaluate the women characters, especially Liu Yue and Jennie, in novels The Abandoned Capital and Jennie Gerhardt respectively by two male writers, Jia Pingwa and Theodore Dreiser, aiming at analyzing and interpreting the stereotypes of women images and through comparative study, reaching a conclusion about what is the right way for women to follow.The reasons to focus the criticism on these two novels lie in the fact that the stories of them are set in the similar social and historical background, the transformational period of industrialization and urbanization when the code of ethics is undergoing changes. In the similar transformational periods, two young girls, Liu Yue and Jennie, choose to earn their livings in big cities and later both of them become mistress of their master. But despite their similar status and experiences, they react differently to their fate and result in different ways of life. What's the reason behind? This is the problem that the dissertation tries to solve.In the course of comparative study, the related theories in Feminist Literary Criticism are resorted to to make a comparison between the two woman images, Liu Yue and Jennie Gerhardt. By denying the "angel in the house" pattern of Jennie and approving the active and independent life pattern of Liu Yue, the thesis tries to call for the awakening of female self-consciousness, construction of female selfhood and economic independence of women. Besides, Jia Pingwa and Theodore Dreiser's...