Women’s Inferiority Complex In Miss Lonelyhearts

Nathanael West is considered as the last talent of "the Lost Generation" in the American literature. More critics hailed him as the most "revolutionary" of the modern writers. West was concerned about the predicament of the modern generation. His masterpiece Miss Lonelyhearts, which enjoys the fame of cannon in modern American literature, is the most popular one among his works not only because of its unique satirical art but also because of a profound insight into women’s issues from a modern perspective.Critics have probed into Miss Lonelyhearts since its production from such perspectives as Marxism, modernism, eco-criticism and Freudianism. However, the present thesis attempts to apply inferiority complex to the study of Miss Lonelyhearts so as to explore the causes of women’s misfortune.The introductory part primarily gives a brief survey of Nathanael West and Afred Adler’s theory of inferiority complex as well as a brief review of West’s novel Miss Lonelyhearts. The first chapter deals with the symptoms of Betty’s inferiority complex and aims to explore its social cause. Betty’s attempt to retreat into limited circle in which she feels secure indicates a great feeling of inferiority. This is also her way to face the society, work and love. The masculine dominance which is deeply rooted in American culture in the 1930s, exerts a strong influence upon Betty’s lack of social interest in particular and women in general. Betty plays a naive and submissive role in her relationship with Miss Lonelyhearts.The second chapter probes into the symptoms and causes of Mary Shrike’s inferiority complex. Mary abnormally repels males. As an abnormal expression of the feeling of inferiority, her rejection of males is mainly caused by her unhappy family life and her failed communication with her lover Miss Lonelyhearts who she trusts implicitly.The third chapter aims to give an in-depth analysis of the shaping process of Fay Doyle’s inferiority complex in terms of her life style and of her rebellion. Fay’s inferiority complex lies in her false sense of superiority. Her frustrated love and economic dependence on men contributes to her inferiority complex. She gets away from womanhood and strives to rule over the men she deals with. This is what Adler calls the attempt to compensate for inferiority complex.It is unfair for some critics to label West as a misogynist just because of his depiction of violence toward women in Miss Lonelyhearts. Although West does not show a way out of women’s predicament, he is deeply concerned with female characters’predicament. This group of women is vulnerable because masculine dominance in culture, coupled with personal misfortune, causes their inferiority complex. In addition, West’s concern with the women question has exerted great influence on a number of successive American writers who come to focus on women as an underprivileged group.