Theme Interpretation On Middle-aged Female Initiation In Ladder Of Years From Rites Of Passage

It has long been an established tradition to portray the growth of adolescent or younger females in Anglo-American female initiation novels. Nevertheless, that the act is against the nature of growing is an eternal procedure of human beings on the one hand, and on the other hand, it ruthlessly eliminates the middle-aged from the initiation stories.Faced with the absence of middle-aged women cultural script, more and more British and American novelists have devoted themselves to the construction of this project after the second wave of women's liberation movement, and Anne Tyler is one of the pioneers(Wang, 2008: 114). As Tyler's thirteenth masterpiece, Ladder of Years was recognized by New York Times as a “Notable Book” and ranked among the top ten TIME bestsellers in fiction of 1995. To date, many scholars have studied the novel from different perspectives. However, no one has delved into the theme of initiation in it. The story line of Ladder of Years, though, to a large extent, corresponds to the typical pattern of initiation stories, the identity of the middle-aged heroine in the novel differs from the initiation theme in classic initiation stories in that the latter merely describe the growing experience of younger characters.Considering the fact that different scholars hold differentiated arguments on the definition of initiation stories, it is argumentative to analyze the theme of initiation in Ladder of Years directly. Nevertheless, if Delia's runaway was analyzed under the framework of rites of passage, it is accessible to interpret the middle-aged female initiation theme in the novel.According to Arnold Van Gennep, rites of passage refers to a range of rituals that mark the state of changes in one's life, including birth, puberty, marriage, pregnancy and death. Usually, rites of passage contains three distinctive phases, which are separation, transition, and reincorporation. Via the perspective of rites of passage, this thesis explores the middle-aged female initiation theme in the novel.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One first introduces the literary career of Anne Tyler and a brief introduction to Ladder of Years. Then it summarizes the research status of Anne Tyler and her works at home and abroad. After that, the chapter defines initiation theme, initiation novels, novels of ripening, and the concept of rites of passage. In the end, the significance and innovation of the thesis are pointed out.Based on the three stages of rites of passage, the main body of the thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter Two, as the separation stage of rites of passage, probes into the reasons of Delia's being lost at home and analyzes how Delia realizes her separation stage both physically and spiritually so that a preparation will be made for the arrival of her transition period.Chapter Three, as the transition stage of rites of passage, includes three important parts: initiation guides, ordeals and Delia's reconstruction. Among which initiation guides and the overcoming ordeals are the precondition of Delia's power recovery and personality transformation. As the key to the whole chapter, reconstruction aims at revealing the process of how Delia regains her self-identity as well as social identity.Chapter Four is the reincorporation stage that mainly presents Delia's new image back home. Contrasted to her former self-lost image, Delia has grown into an independent woman with a large circle of friends, a voiced mother and an experienced wife after the journey.The last chapter sums up the initiation pattern of Ladder of Years and points out that the initiation theme should by no means be only applied to the analysis of teenagers' or younger characters' growth, but also applicable to the stories of middle-aged growth. In the end, the chapter briefly states the limitations of the research and makes a tentative prediction of the future study of Ladder of Years.