摘    要

伊迪斯•华顿是美国著名的女作家。在漫长的写作生涯中，华顿留下了许多作品，包括19部中长篇小说和11本短篇小说集。华顿的大部分小说都是以她所熟悉的19世纪末20世纪初的“老纽约”上流社会为背景，并对其社会传统、习俗、道德和价值观作了细致描绘。作为一名女性作家，华顿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也进行了思考。作为美国普利策奖的获奖小说，出版于1920年的《纯真年代》就是一部刻画男权社会里妇女的从属地位和悲惨命运的经典之作。
19世纪末20世纪初，由于工业革命的影响，尽管“老纽约”的经济发展迅速，然而在政治和文化上美国依然是个相对保守的社会。妇女依然处于第二性的地位。传统婚姻道德约束了女性对自身自由的寻求；看似体现礼貌的社会风俗实质也将女性进一步囚禁于家庭的牢笼。面对这些“老纽约”传统意识形态的压迫，进步的女性开始对约束女性自由与解放的因素进行反抗，从而促进了“新女性”的出现。
女性意识，是指女性对自身价值的体验和醒悟，以及对男性权利的质疑和颠覆。本文在对文本进行详细的分析和解读的基础上，阐释小说中女性意识的存在。本文是从三个方面来说明这个观点的：揭露“老纽约”社会中传统女性的悲哀来说明女性认识到自身的生存状况；“老纽约”中男性的模糊的女性意识的萌芽；以及小说中新女性形象的塑造来体现小说的女性意识。

关键词：伊迪斯•华顿，纯真年代，老纽约，新女性，女性意识

ABSTRACT

Edith Wharton was one of the most influential female writers in America who wrote many works of different genres. Most of her works are set in the old New York. As a woman writer, Edith Wharton is aware of the status and role of women at that time. The Pulitzer-Winning The Age of Innocence is a novel which concentrates on women’s fates in the strictly restriction of the old New York society.
In the late 19th century, the United States was in an economic boom as a result of the Industrial Revolution. However, it was still a conservative society in politics and culture. Woman in the society was in the position of “the second sex”. Traditional roles of woman had been harmful to woman’s physical and psychological development. Meanwhile, traditional marriage morality hindered woman’s pursuit of freedom. Social etiquettes which were signs of politeness and gentleness acted as ways of further imprisonment of woman in the house. Consequently, women with pioneering ideas began to fight against those restrictions imposed on them by the male-dominated society. Therefore, “New woman” emerged in the period.
This thesis attempts to make an exploration into the feminine consciousness in The Age of Innocence: feminine consciousness is exposed through the awareness of woman’s own tragic fates and status in the male chauvinist society; Being a representative of the males of his generation, Newland’s experiences and emotional debility show his blurry feminine consciousness; and Ellen as a “New Woman”, her challenges to the conventions of Old New York prove the existence of feminine consciousness. 

Key words: Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, New Woman, feminine consciousness