To Be Or Not To Be-On Kate Chopin's Ambiguous Characterization Of Female Images In Her Fiction

Kate Chopin is an outstanding southern woman writer in the late 19^th-century America. She creates two novels and three collections of short stories in her life. Some critics believe that the most modern feature of Chopin's works is ambiguity. Chopin is a talent in characterization. In her fiction, she creates a great many female images successfully. The stories on women images are of different types with a colorful life. However, generally speaking, according to their own personalities and stories, these female images can be classified into two types: traditional mother-women and newly awakened women.Mother-women are gentle, loving and unselfish women with motherhood. They are heavily advocated by people in Victorian society. In patriarchal society, women must carry out the role of mother-women. During that time, the feminist movements flushed all around. Most women became awakened and fought for their deserved rights.The appearance of the image of "new woman" is a blot to patriarchal authority. "New woman" is bold to break the bondage of marriage and family to pursue selfhood, free love, independent career and sexual liberation. Through a detailed analysis of a novel and ten short stories chosen from Chopin's fiction, this thesis seeks to demonstrate Chopin's ambiguous characterization of female images from the angle of ambiguous characterization of the textual analysis in her fiction.This thesis stresses Chopin's masterpiece The Awakening and ten short stories from her three collections of short stories, Bayou Folk, A Night in Acadie and A Vocation and a Voice. This thesis aims to demonstrate how patriarchal authority is exposed, criticized and subsequently challenged in these short stories. The analysis of the two types of female images is the emphasis which shows women's awakening and growing rebellion against patriarchal authority. Chopin contrasts traditional mother-women with newly awakened women. However, she focuses on the demonstration of female awakening and rebellion against patriarchy.Chopin is criticized widely by readers and scholars at that time, because her fiction deals with female awareness and rebellion against patriarchy. A half century later, critics reassess Chopin's works. As a forerunner of women's literature, the theme and the position of her fiction in American literature are definitely reaffirmed along with the rising up of feminist movements. Chopin is concerned about women's longing for freedom and autonomy. But it should be noted that none of her stories have provided a definite solution to the problems in "woman question".Chopin's fiction which explores feminist thought against patriarchal authority is warmly welcome by feminists. Being influenced by the Women Suffrage Movement and feminists in the late nineteenth century, Chopin wrote women struggling to search for freedom and self-realization. Female images in her fiction are accommodated to women in Victorian society and modern society to imitate as role models. The "new women" are brave enough to free from marital confinement in order to pursue selfhood, free love, independent career and sexual liberation. However, the theme of Chopin's fiction lies in the conflict for women stuck between their social roles and selfhood. It should be pointed out that Chopin cannot propose a feasible solution to women's bewilderment and problems.The introduction presents us a brief outline of Chopin's status of life and works.This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter one is devoted to the classification of female images in Chopin's fiction. Chopin depicts mainly two types of female images: mother-women and newly awakened women. Every type of female image is demonstrated briefly with corresponding examples in every subsection in the thesis. The examples of traditional mother-women are Mamzelle Aurelie, Madame Delisle and Adele Ratignolle who possess the features of mother-women more or less. According to the characteristics of newly awakened female images, they can be sub-classified into four types. The first type is independent professional women. The examples are Paula von Stolz and Reisz. The second type is female images awakened to marital confinement, such as Athenaise and Edna. The third type is female images awakened to hunger for selfhood, such as Eleanor Gail, Mrs. Sommers, Mrs. Mallard and Edna. The third type is female images awakened to initiate sexual consciousness, such as Mildred Orme, Mrs. Baroda, Calixta and Edna.Chapter two discusses Chopin's ambiguous characterization of traditional mother-women. Chapter three focuses on the newly awakened female images. The emphasis of each chapter lies in analyzing Chopin's ambiguous characterization of each heroine in her fiction. Limited by patriarchal social conventions, Chopin is ambivalent towards two different types of female images. She is fascinated by mother-women. Meanwhile Chopin implies irony and criticism from the perspective of the opposing solutions they represent. Chopin is also ambivalent toward the newly awakened women's desire for freedom, independent career, and sexual desire outside marriage inspired by their strong inward impulse. Sometimes she regards their impulse as the sign that newly awakened women are being true to themselves, while sometimes Chopin is aware of their compulsive and self-destructive pursuit for absolute freedom and the little happiness that women derive from their increasing independence. However, Chopin presents us her heroines in different stories of women's liberation. Chopin knows that her heroines are doomed to frustration and failure because of limitation by the traditional patriarchal authority. Chopin can not find way out of the women's problems. Therefore, she remains ambiguous in the characterization of the two types of female images.Chapter four explores the factors contributing to Chopin's ambiguous characterization of the two types of female images in her fiction. Maybe there exist many factors which have an effect on Chopin's writing. Here this thesis stresses two factors. Firstly, the social background has great influence upon Chopin's writing. On the one hand, the Victorian patriarchal authority limits Chopin's views on writing. On the other hand, the feminist movements and women's suffrage movement in the late nineteenth century liberate Chopin's mind on her writing. However, the deep root of Victorianism and the halfway feminist movements create Chopin's ambiguous characterization of the two types of female images. Secondly, Chopin's own experience has influence upon her writing. Her family background is the basis of Chopin's attention to female images. Especially her family consists of independent female widows who have taught her to be independent. Therefore, Chopin emphasizes independent women and widowhood stories in her fiction. Chopin's own experience of life and marriage present her rich materials to write. Most of her experience affects her views on writing.At last, this thesis concludes that Chopin explores the "woman question" existing in the late nineteenth century. Chopin demonstrates that women in Victorian society are the sacrifices of their family, the objects of their husband's sexual impingements, the slaves of home labor and the machines of giving birth to babies. Chopin introduces sympathy and irony in the characterization of the traditional mother-women.Through the careful reading and explicit analysis of the text in Chopin's fiction, we can see that Chopin have pondered upon women's traditional value. The newly awakened women in her fiction are brave enough to rebel against patriarchal authority. For example, Chopin creates independent professional women pursuing career as the sole purpose of their life. Chopin adores them deeply but at the same time she implies great pity that professional women live monotonously without love or marriage. Some female images rebel against marital confinement. Some of them search for freedom and selfhood. Some pursue sexual freedom and sexual liberation. These newly awakened women achieve their aims more or less. But in the end they can not entirely escape from the punishment by patriarchal authority. Chopin cannot provide a definite solution to "woman question" because of the bondage of Victorian conventions.As a result, Chopin shows ambiguous views in the characterization of female images mentioned above. The reasons can be explored in the text of Chopin's fiction word by word. The feminist movements and female awakening in the world provide wide space for Chopin's opening writing. But the repression of Victorian patriarchy bonds her mind and action. Chopin has no courage to liberate herself absolutely. Thus her fiction employs half-liberated and half-repressed mind and views in writing.The innovation in this thesis is trying to dig out Chopin's ambiguity in the portrayal of the two different types of female images regarding textual ambiguity of characterization in her fiction. The thesis discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of female images in Chopin's fiction. It should be pointed out that there exists no perfect female image not only in literal works but also in real life.The significance of this thesis is trying to offer women in modern society a possibility to orientate a proper role model, because women in modern society will be trapped in dilemma when they make a choice for themselves. The dilemma is just like Hamlet's dilemma to make a choice, "To be or not to be—that is the question". This thesis points out some keys for modern women to choose a proper role model. They lie in their own characteristics and situation around modern women. It is suggested in this thesis that women in modern society had better not only own their happy love and marriage but also an independent job.