On Beatrix Potter's Feminist Ideas In Her Animal Tales

Beatrix Potter(1866-1943), the creator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, is one of the most celebrated British children's literature writers. Most of her literary works are animal tales with watercolor illustrations which combine narrative function and painting artistry, and generations of children as well as their parents love Beatrix Potter's works very much.Till now, only one academic paper in China has touched upon Beatrix Potter. Few literary critics abroad have treated Beatrix Potter's animal tales as serious literary works. Previous researches mainly focus on two aspects, namely, Beatrix Potter's combination of literary narration with painting art and the relation of her life experience in the Lake District of the North England with her literary creation. The author of this thesis holds that the character portrayal of Beatrix Potter's animal tales demonstrate her feminist ideas. It is feasible to introduce feminism into children's literary criticism which is also put into a marginalized position by the patriarchy. Feminist ideas on the part of Beatrix Potter can be verified also in her life stories, which are reflected in three major aspects:the spirit of pursuing freedom, the action of striving for financial independence and the lifestyle of following her own heart, not complying with social norms.This thesis takes the initiative to interpret Beatrix Potter's animal tales from feminist perspective. In character portrayal, females are self-reliant, resourceful, able, responsible and active in shouldering family burden, while male characters are mischievous, selfish, impotent and irresponsible, which are far from Victorian ideal gentleman. Thus, female independence in both spirit and material is more emphasized and finally comes to the conclusion that Beatrix Potter's literary works, most of which are animal tales, are indicative of her feminist ideas.The present study intends to draw more attention to Beatrix Potter in China. Potter's literary works have been translated into more than twenty languages worldwide and reprinted for several times, which have been regarded as one of the 100 children's literary classics. Contrary to this, no Chinese version has ever been produced. Therefore, it is hoped that a Chinese translation will be published in the near future so that more Chinese readers will take part in the sharing of this precious spiritual treasury from Beatrix Potter.