A Feminist Interpretation of The Great Gatsby_英语论文

摘要

弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德是十九世纪末到二十世纪初最为重要的美国文学家之一。菲茨杰拉德所创造的作品与他所处的时代紧密结合，大多表现了一战后美国清教徒道德体系的土崩瓦解，享乐主义、个人主义的兴起以及美国梦的破碎。他所创作的《了不起的盖茨比》也是如此。其中，菲茨杰拉德刻画的黛西、乔丹的女性形象无疑是典型的二十世纪二十年代不受传统拘束的新潮女郎形象，贪婪、美丽又拜金。而本文将从女性主义的角度出发，解读这些女性形象。本论文由三个部分组成：第一部分，解读作者对人物性格的刻画与其命运的安排，得出作者及作者的化身尼克有厌女症情节，且物化女性；第二部分，黛西及乔丹等女性并不是作者笔下的拜金女，而是拜金主义与男权主义的牺牲品；第三部分，讨论黛西与乔丹两位新女性的闪光特质。通过这三部分的解读，得出这样一个结论：黛西是书中男性人物及父权社会的受害者，与此同时，她们也曾追寻自由。黛西等女性并不应该被唾弃，而是被怜悯。

关键词：菲茨杰拉德《了不起的盖茨比》女性主义 厌女症

Abstract

F. Scott. Fitzgerald is one of the most renowned American writers during the period of the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. His works reflect the social environment a lot, including the collapse of American puritan moral values, the rise of hedonism and individualism, and the breakdown of American dream. The Great Gatsby is the same. In it, Daisy and Jordan, characterized by Fitzgerald, are beautiful, materialistic and greedy, but they are trendy, independent at the same time. This paper will focus on the so-called flappers from the perspective of feminism and give the readers a new interpretation. This paper consists of three parts. The first part analyses how Fitzgerald depicted female characters and how their fate was arranged by him. So we can get the point that he and his embodiment, Nick, were misogynists and they tried to objectify women. The second part analyses that Daisy and Jordan were victims of upper class and patriarchy. The third part talks about bright qualities in them. To sum up, Daisy is the victim of male characters and patriarchal society, and she used to gain freedom. Daisy shouldn’t be spit upon but should be taken pity on.

Key Words: Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby; Daisy; Feminism

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. The Objectification of Women 4

2.1 Patriarchal Perception of Women 4

2.2 Nick and Fitzgerald as Misogynists 5

2.3 Daisy Complicit in Objectification7

2.3.1 The Pure, Innocent and Romantic Girl.8

2.3.2 The Desperate Girl, a Material but Loyal Woman8

2.3.3 The Disloyal and Immoral Woman.9

3. The Victims of Patriarchy .10

3.1 Daisy's Victimizer Image 10

3.2 Jordan-new woman image12

3.3 Myrtle-selfish mistress image13

4. The Bright Qualities of Female Characters 15

4.1 Liberation of Women 15

4.2 Apperance of Professional Women 16

5. Conclusion 17

Bibliography 18

Acknowledgments 19