A Study of The Help from the Perspective of Ecofeminism_英语论文

摘要

《相助》讲述了20世纪60年代初密西西比州杰克逊镇的白人主妇和黑人女佣之间的故事。斯基特小姐、艾碧莲和明尼三位女性以写书的方式来探寻自我身份、反抗男权及种族主义的努力构成了小说的主线。三个平凡的女人，卑微地生活在因种族制度而令人倍感窒息的密西西比，挣扎于因“父权制”所造成的两性不平等的社会中，她们的存在表达着弱势女性对平等生存权的渴望。小说揭示了男性至上的思维模式对女性和自然的统治和忽视,表达了作者解放女性和自然,构建一个平等世界的理想。本文使用定性研究的方法，从生态女性主义的角度分析小说中的主要女性角色，探究她们在不同场景中与自然的相处模式,揭示作品中暗藏的女性与自然之间的隐喻关系，探索自然和女性精神的联系，凸显作者对人类摧残自然和压迫女性的反抗和谴责，以及尊重、爱护女性和自然的生态思想。

关键词：生态女权主义  种族主义  父权制  

Abstract

The Help tells the story of white housewives and black maids in Mississippi, in the early 1960s. Miss Skeeter, Aibeleen and Minny’s efforts to explore their self-identity and fight against male chauvinism and racism by writing books constitute the main line of the novel. They are three ordinary women, living humbly in Mississippi and struggling in a society of gender inequality caused by “patriarchy” and racism. Their existence expresses the desire of vulnerable women for equal rights to life. The novel reveals the domination and neglect of women and nature by the dualistic thinking mode of male supremacy, and expresses the author’s ideal of emancipating women and nature and constructing a world of equality. This paper uses qualitative research method to analyze the main female characters in the novel from the perspective of ecofeminism, to study the mode of their relationship with nature in different scenes, to reveal the metaphorical relationship between women and nature hidden in the works, and to explore the relationship between nature and female spirit with highlighting the author’s condemnation of human beings’ destruction of nature and oppression of women, as well as her ecological thought of respecting and cherishing women and nature.

Key words: Ecofeminism  Racism  Patriarchy  

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  A Brief Introduction to Kathryn Stockett 1

1.2  A Brief Introduction to The Help 1

1.3  Purpose of the Thesis 2

Chapter Two  Literature Review 3

2.1  Introduction 3

2.2  Racism 3

2.3  Femininity 4

2.4  Comments 4

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework: Ecofeminism 5

3.1  Introduction 5

3.2  A General Survey of Ecofeminist Development 5

3.3  The Main Viewpoints of Ecofeminism 6

3.3.1 Identification between Women and Nature 6

3.3.2 Criticism of Western Modern Scientific Concept 7

3.3.3 Unity of Diversity 8

3.4  Summary 9

Chapter Four  An Ecofeminist Probe into The Help 10

4.1  Introduction 10

4.2  The Ecofeminist Exploration of the Heroines in The Help 11

4.2.1 Miss Skeeter 11

4.2.2 Aibileen 14

4.2.3 Minny 16

4.3  Summary 18

Chapter Five  Conclusion 19

Bibliography

Acknowledgments