The Confrontation Between Patriarchy And Feminism In The Virgin And The Gipsy

This thesis presents an in-depth analysis of the short fiction The Virgin and the Gipsy which was written by D. H. Lawrence. It mainly focuses on the tragical life of women constrained by patriarchal culture in Victorian age, and analyses the different reaction of both sexes especially main female characters who represented different class interests respectively by using the theory of Feminism and Freud psychoanalysis, and finally reflects the balance principle between men and women advocated by D. H. Lawrence in this short fiction.D. H. Lawrence is regarded as one of the greatest and the most controversial figures in the history of English literature in the 20th century. He was apt to use psychological description as well as unique perspectives in his literary outputs, and focused on people's mental world and strongly opposed capitalist system which gave suppression on human being's desire and instinct. But he gave a high praise of the sexuality directly and boldly, which was a complete challenge at that time. In his opinion, sexuality could make for a happy marriage. Therefore, his works were banned for a long time, because many people found his ideology was hard to accept at that time especially for irritation to the ruling class. So he was viewed as a "pornographic writer" and his works were badly received for a long period at home and abroad for misunderstanding. In China, Lawrence and his works flooded in till the implement of reform and opening policy. Up till now, the research on Lawrence and his works still holds unflagging enthusiasm all around the world.The Virgin and the Gipsy was written for his wife Frieda. Like his autobiographical novel Sons and Lovers, a great deal of raw material in it was based on the real life of Frieda's ex-family. Frieda and her two daughters are all archetypes of the characters in this short fiction. The Virgin and the Gipsy is one of the most representative short fictions of D. H. Lawrence. It is regarded as mini edition of Lady Chatterley's Lover for its clear-cut theme, fierce contradiction and tight structure. According to these factors above, the study on this short fiction is as significant as the study on D. H. Lawrence. The Virgin and the Gipsy expanded the plot based on the conflict between two generations representing traditional force and new force respectively. It explored hypocrisy of middle and upper class as well as their religious conceptions, morality and asceticism which tightly bonded people who lived in Victorian age. By showing these, D. H. Lawrence had an intention to praise nature, life, passion and instinct of human being. In his point of view, women should be independent, and should be encouraged to seek for happiness. To some extent, Lawrence belongs to a psychological novelist. He made a thorough analysis of the nature of human being, thus he insists that people's bodies exist in the real world, while their mental world are in the other side, which can not be easily detected. His wife Frieda was very interested in Freud psychoanalysis and tried to make Lawrence accept it. Though he denied to be affected by Freudism, a large amount of evidences in the novels can be explained by Freudism. In this novel, some writing skills such as symbol and psychological description which are all used to serve for the theme.The thesis includes 5 parts. Part one gives a brief introduction about the author and his short fiction The Virgin and the Gipsy as well as current research and literature review. In part two, it mainly introduces the theory of Feminism and Freud Psychoanalysis. Part three and part four are the main bodies of the thesis. Part three mainly analyses a purely male supremacy society provided by D. H. Lawrence which restrained women tightly on bodies and minds. It also analyses two anti-traditional male characters in the short fiction and female patriarchy enthusiasts, and how they offend other women. Part four is about the awakening and resistance of the female characters, that is Frieda and Yvette. It mainly focuses on the heroine-virgin Yvette. It presents a detail analysis of her reaction from outer part-social reason and inner part-psychological reason. That is what we called id, as well as the trigger-the mysterious Gipsy man, so as to make a profound understanding of their behavior. In this chapter it shows that how the author explored the evil of the society and patriarchy and formed an ideal society in his heart as well as how to praised true love of human beings and equilibrium principle between two sexes. The thesis tries to illustrate the awakening of feminine consciousness by analyzing women's resistance in mind and behavior, meanwhile, discusses how he explored the theme by using symbol. Part five is conclusion, which shows the enlightenment to modern women, and encourages women to struggle for their equal rights and fulfill their values.