In Search Of Androgynous "God"

Based on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Alice Walker's The Color Purple,and guided by New Historicism,this thesis connects “God”,a literature motif,with black feminism from the perspective of black women's “God” Complex,and aims to explore the image and meaning of “God” in the eyes of black women.At the same time,this thesis re-examines the gender identities of the two heroines and challenges the traditional gender binary opposition.It intends to show how “God” migrates and exists in black women's literature and points out that proper understanding of “God” is of great significance and influence for black women to acquire identity and strive for self-redemption.Black women's conceptualization of who “God” is and what “God” is corresponds with the establishment of real self and the formation of androgynous consciousness witnesses the emergence and growth of neglected new black women in history.This thesis demonstrates the awakening and growth of black women on consciousness of gender identity and self through revealing the evolving symbolic connotation of “God” in the heart of black women.Two heroines' process of knowing “God” from being recognized,overthrowing,re-identifying to finally researching for real “God” is concurrent with their process of breaking away from stereotyped femininity,awakening and gradually developing ideal femininity and masculinity and finally uniting both sexes in a whole and evolving into androgynous self with the wisdom of self-love,self-confidence,self-reliance and self-autonomy.This thesis attempts to re-examine history and concludes that “God” is neither a white man nor a black man,but one's self,or more accurately,an androgynous self.At last,this thesis helps to unite the state of great equality between male and female,and the great unity and harmony between “God” and androgynous self in womanism,and points out its great significance for the establishment of humanistic society of anti-sexism,anti-racism,and full realization of unity and harmony.While analyzing dialectically Walker's revival and inheritance of Hurston,this thesis critically discusses Walker's mild correction of Hurston's radical attitudes in dealing with issues of gender identity and tries to provide a new vision and direction to compare the two writers and their works.