Comparative Study Of Boudoir Politics In The Works Of Eileen Chang And Katherine Mansfield

In the first half of 20^th century,the first wave of feminism had an influence all over the world.Eileen Chang in Shanghai and Katherine Mansfield drifting in London wrote their novels in this context.The two writers are not feminism activists,but by the feminine consciousness,they describe the state of women living in the patriarchal system,pay attention to the submission and struggle of women who live in the Boudoir Politics and expose the division of psychological state of women living in the patriarchal system as a rebel or an accomplice.The works of Eileen Chang and Mansfield can be valuable because they are created with the writers'honesty to their female identity.They explain women destiny from the female perspective.They describe the repression and insane behaviors of women living in the patriarchal system,highlight the struggle and rebellion of women who caught in the Boudoir Politics.The two writers have much in common when they describe the Boudoir Politics in their novels.But the depth and breadth is different due to their difference of culture background,upbringing and personal life.This paper is divided to four parts to study boudoir politics in the works of Eileen Chang and Katherine Mansfield by the perspective of comparative literature.The first part is about the analysis of awkward identities of women in the patriarchal family.Due to marriage culture controlled by patriarchal system,women become the Different Surnames from the day of birth.Before or after marriage,women cannot occupy positions in the sequence of family.What they can do is to be a Wife or a Mather which will help them get into the patriarchal order.Even though,they are faced with difficulties which they might be a Third Party or they have to defense a Third Party.Any,Boudoir Politics are unavoidable.The second part is the interpretation of the fear in women deep heart,which is to be a Third Party or to defense and resist the Third Party.The existence of Third Party is the cultural characteristics of the patriarchy society.One of the fears of traditional women is to become Third Party in other people's marriage when their identity changing from daughter to wife.The wife in the patriarchal order fear the Third Party outside the family who want to squeeze into the patriarchal order and replace her.The third part is to analyze the Boudoir Politics from the perspective of bosom friends relationship.Women cannot realize where they belong to and they have no consistency in the aspects of cultural psychology.So it is simple that bosom friends relationship defeated by the power of Boudoir Politics.Because of Boudoir Politics,women as a rebellion or as an accomplice betray others and split themselves.The fourth part of this thesis will talk about the differences and the reasons on Boudoir Politics description between Eileen Chang and Katherine Mansfield.There are differences in depth of Boudoir Politics description in the works of the two writers because of historical and cultural background and the personal experience.In terms of subject matter,Eileen Chang has always been concerned about marriage.The description of Boudoir Politics in her works is extreme and complete,but the vision is relatively narrow.Mansfield is widely concerned with the female destiny who is from different social status and describes more wider Boudoir Politics.Without previous arrangement,Eileen Chang and Katherine Mansfield pay attention to the women as relatives,friends and female counterparts.They describe the desperate fight between the traditional women in the Boudoir Politics.The feminine existent status exist in the literature works and the real society now.To get rid of Boudoir Politics women should win the real equal social environment and more freedom,Only in this way can women get the absolute self-determined right and achieve the real freedom of choice.