Something Real, Cool And Solid

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) is one of the most outstanding female novelists in the 19th century English literature. She is well-known as the author of Jane Eyre, about which the critical works and articles are numerous. But in recent years, Shirley, along with Bronte's other work, has received a great deal of attention from feminist critics. Like Charlotte's other works, Shirley is about the struggle of an individual consciousness toward self-realization, about some lonely and neglected young women with a longing for love. In it, Charlotte writes about her own life and feelings as a Victorian woman writer and the social problem of surplus women at the Victorian Age, condemning the patriarchal restrictions on women. She also deconstructs the patriarchal mythology and build up the female tradition instead. Shirley is the literary embodiment of Charlotte Bronte's serious thoughts, reflecting her female awareness. The thesis aims to fulfill the task of analyzing Charlotte Bronte's female awareness in the framework discussed below.There are three sections in this thesis. In the introductory remarks, the author of this thesis gives an overview of Charlotte Bronte's writings, especially Shirley, and its critical receptions. The framework of the thesis is also introduced. The main body part of this thesis consists of three chapters, focusing on different aspects of the novel in terms of characterization for a close examination of the novel's major characters'life and spiritual reality from the textual approach. In Chapter One, the thesis studies the similarities between the writer and her characters, reflecting Charlotte's consciousness in the writing process. In Chapter Two, the author of this thesis attempts to analyze Charlotte's concern about the Victorian women's living conditions, which is reflected in the surplus women problem. Charlotte also offers the conventional Caroline's reflection on her unhappiness and a pioneering women image of Shirley. Chapter Three is mainly devoted to the analyses of Charlotte's unconventional treatment of deconstruction with regards to patriarchal mythology in the novel. As concluding remarks, the Conclusion affirms Charlotte Bronte's female awareness examined in the thesis, and offers some suggestion for further study.