Female Submission And Resistance To Male Gaze In 'Tis Pity She's A Whore And The Lover's Melancholy

'Tis Pity She 's a Whore and The Lover 's Melancholy are two plays created by John Ford.These two plays present the different choices the two heroines make when faced with male oppression,and the two distinct endings of the heroines.From the perspective of gaze theory,this paper analyzes Annabella's tragedy and Eroclea's course from misery to happiness.It employs the methods of literature analysis,text analysis and theory analysis to explore the male characters'gaze at these two heroines,and heroines'submissiveness and rebellion under male gaze.This paper attempts to prove that Annabella loses independent personality and yields to male gaze,while Eroclea holds firm self-consciousness and strong willpower who eventually rebels against male gaze successfully.Although since the mid-twentieth century,the literary criticism of these two plays has been increased,the analyses about the gender relation and the female image still lack specialized and systematic researches.This paper offers a new perspective to interpret these two plays,demonstrating John Ford's criticism of male gaze and encouragement of woman's counter-gaze.It has practical significance for motivating modern women to get rid of dependence and pursue equal,free and independent lives.