On The Female Biography Of Litton Strath

Lytton Strachey occupies an important position in the history of English biographies. He is the major figure of the new biography of the twentieth century. He had a few writes which were all classics. Strachey broke the tradition and chose several women as heroes of his biographies. He set a precedent of writing female biographies by male biographers in the history of English biography. In this thesis, the research is going on with Strachey’s three female biographies and focusing on the analysis of the new concepts and methods of modern biography in them. This paper mainly discusses the following aspects:The introduction part summarizes the relationship between Strachey and the new biography briefly, puts forward the main ideas of this paper that based on the overview of related research domestic and overseas.The first chapter focuses on motivations that Strachey wrote female biographies. The Bloomsbury group brought him the latest ideologies, its pursuit of freedom, innovation and critical spirit has infected Strachey’s creation. It was the time when the British feminism was developing vigorously in the late19th and early20th century. Affecting by Woolf et al, Strachey began to focus on women. Growing up in "a Victorian family", Strachey deeply appreciated the emptiness and corruption behind the prosperity. His mother was his power against the traditional Victorian society and as the prototype of his heroines in three biographies.The second chapter proceeds from the conception "androgyny" to explore the identity construction of heroines of three biographies and its relationship with the writer. The three have been characterized into the image of bisexuality as the result of Strachey’s transference from his own identity seeking to biography writing. Homosexual identity made him poorly understood by the community,and he fell into the anxiety of identity. Strachey integrated this anxiety into his biography writing. Through the identity construction of three heroines, such as the Queen, Elizabeth, Strachey wanted to construct an identity as a seeker of sexual freedom and harmony.The third chapter focuses on the literary of modern biographies that appears in Strachey’s female biographies. The emphasis on literary of biography is an important aspect that Strachey’s biographies promote the transformation of modern biography. In the three female biographies, Strachey broke the hero worship in traditional biography, focusing on writing "humanity", digging out heroines’ human nature. Literary fiction is referenced by Strachey in biography writing, and this kind of speculation and imagination which is based on the main character of heroines has enhanced the literary in biography. Integrating satire which was fashionable during the modernist period is not only enhancing artistic effect of biography, but also reflecting the autonomy of biographer.The fourth chapter analyzes Freud’s psychoanalysis using in Strachey’s female biographies. Tracing childhood experiences is an important point that he tried to explain the personality formation of the three women through it. It reflects a more human understanding of the heroines. Interpreting the emotional life of the heroines from the angle of sex drive shows Strachey’s frank attitude of sexual topic and courage to explore the deep sex psychology. These all indicate that Strachey hope to dig out heroines’ complex inner through psychoanalysis. It shows a strong characteristics of experiment.The conclusion part is a summary for this paper. The three female biographies have adhere to the principles of biography writing put forward by Strachey. They show modern ideas of extending individuality and the pursuit of spiritual freedom in the new biography. They have Exerted a far-reaching effect on the future female biography writing, and promoted the modernization of biography.