Abstract

The famous American writer, Edith Wharton is committed to using literature to reveal the traditional morality, customs in the late 19th early 20th century in the United States. Wharton also has a very deep thinking about the experiences of women in the male-dominated traditional society and their liberation. The Age of Innocence is a good manifestation interprets that women deserve respect and care at that time; women should strive for freedom, rights and equality.
Wharton fixes the narrator of the story in Newland, who is the main hero in this article. She talks the development of the story with the tone of men through imitation of male discourse and thoughts. It reveals the hidden meaning of resistance of women that is behind the male dominance as well. The paper mainly analyzes feminism from the two heroines Ellen and May Welland from their different personalities and social status. In the meanwhile, the paper analyzes Newland from his feminist views and his actual macho that hidden deeply in his mind to expose the miserable fate of women. Finally, this paper gives an objective elaboration about the view of feminism of Wharton to better understand this work.

Key words:  Feminism  patriarchal society  male chauvinism

摘 要

美国著名作家，伊迪丝•华顿致力于用文学作品揭露19世纪末20世纪初美国“老纽约”上流社会的传统道德。同时，她对女性在以男性为主导的传统社会中的遭遇以及女性的解放进行了深刻的思考。《纯真年代》正是向人们阐释女性在当时社会应该受到尊重与爱护，努力争取自由，权利与平等的佳作。
华顿将故事的叙述中心定格在纽兰这一男性人物身上，通过对男性话语与思想的模仿，用男性的口吻讲述，揭示了女性在男性主导权背后所隐藏的反抗之意。本论文主要从女性主义角度出发，分析女主角艾伦与梅•韦兰的性格与社会地位。同时从纽兰的角度分析他对于女性主义的看法与实际隐藏着的男子主义。最后对华顿对于女性主义的观点进行客观阐述，更好地了解这部作品。

关 键 词:  女性主义  男权社会  大男子主义

1. Introduction
    Since the important American Civil War and, with the rapid development of economy and machines, some writers had more confidence to write books. However, due to some dissatisfied feelings towards society and more and more equal rights given by the government to women with men, some female writers began to pick up their pens. The American Civil War prompted middle-class women to find the way to get rid of this state of humiliation of women.