Women's Predicament In The East And West

The present thesis makes a categorized analysis of the female images in Moment in Peking and The Awakening with the help of Marxist feminist theory represented by Juliet Mitchell. Six women in the two novels are divided into three categories: conformists of social conventions, rebels, and compromisers in-between. Through the analysis of these women who have similar fate in different cultural backgrounds, it is concluded that women's predicament in the capitalist west and feudalist east is the same or similar. Women's emancipation is a complex problem relevant to economy, politics, family, ideology and social thoughts. Only the independence in economy or equality in politics could not essentially change women's situation and realize equality between man and woman. The break of the social structure which oppresses women, the improvement of people's traditional thoughts and the progress of social system are also necessary conditions.