An Interpretation Of Female Growth In The Handmaid’s Tale From The Perspective Of Beauvoir’s Feminist Theory

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian writer famous for her prose and fiction,whose works contain a wealth of themes,such as gender and identity,religion and myth,and power politics.The Handmaid’s Tale is one of her famous works,in which feminism,dystopia and other themes are reflected.The novel tells the miserable experiences of women who become reproductive machines in Gilead.As many women in Gilead have trouble conceiving resulting from the ecological upheaval,those who are still fertile are forced to become handmaids in the families of the Commanders and give birth to children for the male masters.Researches on this novel from the perspective of feminism have attracted worldwide attention in recent years.It encompasses numerous feminist focuses,such as studies on female body,women’s resistance,the awakening of female consciousness and eco-feminism.However,very few researches have been made by combining feminist theory in Beauvoir’s The Second Sex with the novel.In view of this,the thesis seeks to interpret the process of growth of women in this novel from being oppressed to awakening and resisting by adopting Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist theory.By analyzing the dilemma faced by women brought about by women’s special body structure,women’s status as the Other in Gilead society,the establishment of their subjective consciousness,and their transcendence of themselves,this study attempts to reveal the great efforts made by women for their self-emancipation,and therefore to praise female heroic behaviors in bravely fighting against the authorities and pursuing happiness.The main body of this study consists of seven parts.The first chapter provides an introduction of Atwood and the novel,a summary of the related researches at home and abroad,a description of the content framework and an explanation of the significance of this study.After a brief introduction to feminism,the second chapter focuses on the explanation of Beauvoir’s feminist viewpoints.The third chapter explores the relationship between female body structure and their disadvantaged situation.The situation of all women in the novel is closely related to their physiological status,to be more precise,to their reproductive health.Their bodies are considered to be the property of men,and are beyond the control of women themselves.The fourth chapter focuses on women’s status as the Other in a legal and social sense.It holds that the stability of patriarchal society,women’s obedience and complicity with men are the root causes for women’s status as the Other.The discussion of the awakening of their subjectivity is placed in the fifth chapter,which is analyzed from two aspects: the equal and harmonious relationship between the handmaids and their male coadjutant;the countermeasures taken by the maids in the face of Gilead’s mental and physical control.The last chapter of the main part concentrates on the transcendence of women.By breaking through the limitations of body structure,resisting the requirements of “femininity” and pursuing their goal,the women in the novel eventually transcend their immanence,break away from the status of the Other,striving towards liberation and independence.The seventh chapter summarizes the full text,and points out the limitations of the research and offers suggestions for future researches.Based on Beauvoir’s feminist theory,the thesis emphasizes that to achieve emancipation,women should strive to get rid of the “femininity” shaped by society,transcend their immanence,break through the restriction of physiological structure and endeavor to achieve economic and spiritual independence.Then,they should try to establish a harmonious and mutual aid relationship with men and realize the “mitsein”between men and women.