Abstract and Key Words

Abstract:  In the novel Gone with the Wind, through the vivid portrayal of a series of the female characters, the author, Margaret Mitchell, exposes the inferior position of women in the Southern society during the American Civil War. Margaret Mitchell praises their contribution to the Southern society, their pursuit of self-consciousness and decision-making power as well as their fraternity, selflessness and rebellious spirit. In the novel, the author shows her belief that women should be liberated from families. Through the analysis of the character of Scarlett and Melanie, this thesis aims to interpret feminist consciousness in Gone with the Wind.

Key word:  feminist consciousness; awakening; female characters  

摘要： 在玛格丽特•米歇尔的小说《飘》中，作者通过展现一系列个性鲜明的女性形象， 揭示了美国内战前后南方社会中妇女低下的社会地位， 同时肯定了她们对南方社会的贡献，对她们的博爱无私和勇于反抗、追求自我意识和自主权的精神给予了由衷的赞美，表达了作者的观点——妇女应该走出家庭、获得解放。本文通过对小说中斯嘉丽和梅兰妮的性格分析，进而解读小说文本中的女性意识。

关键词：女性意识； 觉醒 ; 女性角色

1.    Introduction
1.1 Margaret Mitchell and Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell, the author of the enormously popular novel Gone with the Wind, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father, Eugene Mitchell was a lawyer and president of the Atlanta History Society. Her mother, Mary Isabelle, much referred to as “Maybelle”, was a suffragist and an advocate of women’s rights in general. Her childhood was spent in the laps of Civil War veterans and of her maternal relatives, who had lived through the Civil War. She was fascinated by the stories about old Atlanta and the battles. In 1926, encouraged by her husband, Margaret wrote Gone with the Wind, which is set against the background of the American Civil War of 1861-1865. The stirring drama of the Civil War and reconstruction is brought vividly to life in this really magnificent novel. Gone with the Wind was published in1936, ten years after Mitchell began writing it. Since its publication, the novel has always been one of the most popular books, selling more than 25 million copies by the year 1988 in 27 languages and in at least 185 editions. In 1937 Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel. In the late 1930s, a film version of the novel was planned by David O. Selznick, exceeded all expectations and became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood, and received a record-breaking ten Academy Awards.