Feminine·Humanity·Desolation

The contemporary writer Zhang Ailing, observes acutely that the material plays a significant part in feminine existence. She vividly gave views of a feminine "seeking survival". Among women described by Zhang, although living in different social environments, astonishing parallels can be found in their living situation. Most of them lived in the declining old-type families and turbulent times pressed them to take the responsibility for their existence. However, without any skill, they often had to face the embarrassment of living. As a result, seeking marriage for living became their rescue from desperate situations. Apart from several new women who possessed independent ideas, most women written by Zhang were pursuing marriage. Old type women obstinately clang to marriage and the new women baptized by new culture also had to choose marriage as their sole, final settling place. It can be safely concluded that marriage was an efficient way of existence for these women.Zhang Ailing's novels, clearly intensify the seeking the material on the part of women. This real material awareness is the writer's distinct feeling of her own hard lot, or rather, it is the unique observation and grasp of their existing situation of these "desolated women" who were born in war times and most women in Zhang's novels do not possess the rebellious spirit and action; their life flowers faded in tolerance and worries. But some women had definite purposes on their action and were full of risking spirit, they would not be at the mercy of others. They engage in various kinds of struggle and revolt in their worldly living.Through observing women of various type, the writer expresses overall attention and show great concern for the feminine fate. While showing loving care for the feminine existence, she did not evade the "sex", rather, she bravely hit the feminine love and sex. But she advocates the veiled beauty of sex, rather than playing up "sex", which is utterly different from modern feminine writer's "body narration".The most frequent words in Zhang Ailing's novels are "desolate", "bleak" and "miserable". In fact, "desolate" can summarize the aesthetic style of her novels. The gloomy, desolate and depressed tone overflowing in her novels is the features of the 1930s' and 1940s' old China. It is also the projection of war times on people's...