Feminist Aesthetic Views In Ulysses From The Perspective Of Feminist Narrative

James Joyce is one of the most prominent literary figures of the first half of the 20th century and is long considered as "authors' author".As a great artistic genius,Joyce created a body of work,in which Ulysses is the best one,worthy of comparison with the other masterpieces of English literature.Ulysses has been the subject of much controversy and scrutiny since its publication,ranging from early obscenity trials to protracted textual "Joyce Wars." Besides,over the decades,Joyce has been charged with "chauvinism," sometimes for unstated offenses,most convincingly for his predominant use of male perceivers and female "others," or "companion" women.Many critics have accepted the assertion that women in Joyce's fiction consistently reflect the virgin/whore dichotomy dominant in western culture.Meanwhile,Feminism is one of eminent studies in the world wide of academics ranging from the 19th century.Feminist Narratology and Feminist Aesthetics are cross subjects between feminism and narratology or aesthetics.While postmodern philosophy and cultural studies have gone a long way in the last decade toward sketching out the parameters of how culture works upon the body,Feminist Narratology can give us the tools to get much more concrete about how that process operates.Feminist Aesthetics belongs to the ideological sphere, permeates and embodies in narrative process.It characteristically respects and emphasizes the standpoint and value of the female and gender in Aesthetics.The thesis is a tentative study of Feminist Aesthetic views in Ulysses with the tool of Feminist Narratology that James Joyce conveys through establishing the authority of the female,orchestrating perspectives and shaping his representation of the heroine-Molly. Although Joyce has not claimed himself as a feminist,his representation of women is in alliance with feminist ideology in many aspects.The thesis consists of six parts.Before the detailed analysis,review of James Joyce and his Ulysses,context of theory,society and literature,Feminist Narratology,and Feminist critical review on Ulysses at home and abroad are offered in Chapter 1.Chapter 2 discusses narrative patterns of unique characters,plot and structure.In this part,the most important is the discovery of the Female Structure,which is the base of the thesis to explore Feminist Aesthetic views in Ulysses with the tool of Feminist Narratology in the following four chapters.Chapter 3 is to illustrate now stream-of-consciousness text is a kind of discourse mode that easily represents feminismized features although both male and female writers employ this textual mode.Chapter 4 demonstrates that James Joyce establishes the authority of the female through the analysis of narrative voice of Molly as a female character and narrator.Chapter 5 is devoted to Molly's transcending female perspective controlling the whole novel through its orchestrating functions.Chapter 6 discusses and summarizes Feminist Aesthetic Views in Ulysses based on feminist narratological reading of Ulysses.The thesis also presented the concept of "Feminine Feelings" and pointed out curing functions of "Feminine Feelings" in Ulysses.If you are a female reader,these feminine feelings produced in the process of reading Ulysses would intensify your female identity and make you forget others and completely wrapped up in your reading,gaining a different aesthetic experience.If you are a male reader, they would make you forget your identity as a male temporarily to edge away from your overfull responsibilities imposed by society,the family and yourself.Most importantly,it is love that makes Molly reunite to the family and repair the family crack,symbolizing reconstruction of human's spiritual sphere.People could gain humanistic care,love and consolation and restore energy,which would lead human beings out of spiritual predicament.