| Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) is not only a great English novelist but also an important pioneer of feminist literary criticism of the twentieth century. In her A Room of One's Own, Woolf looks into female identity and femininity, explores woman's new image and new character, and courageously puts forward her androgyny poetics which has become the focus of feminist criticism. The thesis is devoted to the analysis of Woolf's feminist thought—androgynous vision, which can be considered as a lighthouse towards harmony.The thesis consists of six chapters as follows:In Chapter 1, the thesis gives a general introduction to the theoretical background for Woolf's feminism including socially feminist movement and academically feminist literary criticism, the literary review of Virginia Woolf both at home and abroad, and the significance of the thesis.The generalization of Woolf's feminism is presented in Chapter 2. Woolf attempted to explore the female identity and rebuild the harmonious man-woman relationship. This chapter emphasizes on Woolf's feminism, mainly concerning the female identity.Chapter 3 illustrates Woolf's androgynous vision in detail through a close reading of the text: A Room of One's Own. She expands the notion and uses it as a symbol of unity. To Woolf, androgyny is the most propitious writing state, in which a writer can make a perfect artistic expression. Woolf's androgynous idea deconstructs the male-centered binary opposition and seeks for the harmonious reconciliation of the sexes.In Chapter 4, the thesis takes Lily Briscoe in To the Lighthouse and Orlando in Orlando respectively for a case study as the further explanation of the theory.Chapter 5 discusses the intrinsic relationship between Woolf's androgynous idea and the third feminist movement.Chapter 6 serves as the conclusion of the thesis. In this part, the thesis gives a positive affirmation to Woolf's contribution to the women's liberation, literary creation and even the progress of whole human beings.
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