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1、斯嘉丽和王熙凤女性形象的对比Female Image Comparison between Scarlett and Wang XifengAbstract: Scarlett in Gone with the Wind and Wang Xifeng in A Dream of Red Mansions are two striking images inscribed in readers minds. It was the Civil War that accelerated Scarletts maturity and independence; it was during the r
2、econstruction period that Scarlett became aggressive and adapted to the new bourgeois. She was called a heroine during wartime while Wang Xifeng was the witness of the clans decline, and was an indispensable character in the novel, though she was not the protagonist. She broke away from the traditio
3、nal feudal idea and displayed her administrative competence. She was called a heroine in the kingdom of women. Because of the variation in personality and wags, they had different fates, and the two womens images show different characters as well. Though both of Scarlett and Wang Xifeng were pretty,
4、 shrewish, complex and competent, both of them had strong feminist consciousness, they encountered different fates. By analyzing the similarities and differences between the two female characters this paper tries to discuss different females in different cultural backgrounds had different fates.Key
5、words: Scarlett；Wang Xifeng；Image Comparison摘要：飘中斯嘉丽的形象与红楼梦中王熙凤的形象已深入人心。斯嘉丽在南北战争中成长为独立、坚强的女性；在重建时期，表现出积极进取的精神，适应新形势，紧跟时代发展，由农场主阶级转变为新兴的资产阶级，展示了其独特的女性魅力，被称为乱世中的佳人。王熙凤是四大家族兴衰的见证人和主线，贯穿首尾，虽然不是主角，但她是红楼梦中不可或缺的人物，她突破了“女子无才便是德”的传统封建理念，在大观园中将其治家管理才能发挥得淋漓尽致，是脂粉堆里的女英雄。性格的差异和手段的不同，使她们有着不同的命运，她们的形象也闪烁出不同的光芒。斯嘉丽
6、和王熙凤尽管天生丽质，性格泼辣，能力非凡，且有很强的女权意识，但最后的命运却是大相径庭；一个是强者生存，一个是误了卿卿性命。本文通过分析斯嘉丽和王熙凤的异同之处讨论不同女性在不同的文化背景下有不同的命运。关键词：斯嘉丽； 王熙凤；女性形象ContentsI. Introduction .1A. Gone with the Wind and Margaret Mitchell.1B. A Dream of Red Mansions and Cao Xueqin.2II. Similarities between Scarlett and Wang Xifeng.2A. Complex perso
7、nality.2B. Shrewishness.5C. Rebellions spirit of feminism.7III. Differences between Scarlett and Wang Xifeng.9A. Different competence.9B. Different fates11IV. Conclusion.14Works Cited.15I. IntroductionA. Margaret Mitchell and Gone with the WindGone with the Wind was published in 1936 and become the
8、best seller. In 1937, this novel won Pulitzer. By 1949, when the author Margaret Mitchell died from a traffic accident, this novel had been translated into 18 languages, and published and released in more than 40 countries. Even nowadays, this novel is popular among readers in the world. The author
9、Margaret Mitchell was a woman writer of the American South, who was famous for this novel. She was born in her Grandmother Annies house in Atlanta on November 9, 1900. Here she was first encountered familys rich legacy of oral history-countless retelling of the Civil War. Margaret Mitchell had an id
10、yllic childhood and she read avidly. As she grew older she was gradually exposed to the harder realities of life. Later she was became a Georgian author and journalist. From 1926 to 1936, she wrote this novel. In 1937, it was said to be the fastest-selling novel in the history of American publishing
11、. It has sales record of 500,000 during its first year.Gone with the Wind depicts tribulations of Scarlett Ohara, Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton, who are four of the best known fictional characters in American literature as they attempt to adapt to the changing circumstances of the
12、ir homeland. However, only the willful heroine Scarlett and the roguish Rhett emerge as survivors in the “New South”, while the ineffectual dream Ashley is defeated in spirit and the docile “Southern woman” Melanie dies.B. Cao Xueqin and A Dream of Red MansionsA Dream of Red Mansions, one of the cel
13、ebrated Chinese classical novels, is a masterpiece of realism written in the middle of the 18th century and an encyclopedia of the declining feudal society. Cao Xueqin(1715?-1763?) was born in an aristocratic family that lasted about a hundred years, but later, the family property was confiscated an
14、d the Caos halcyon days came to an end. He wrote this novel in poverty, after his father suffered the decline of his family fortunes from its heady of power and affluence. His life experiences not only provided the material for the novel, they also raised his awareness and tempered his character. He
15、 spent ten years writing and revising the novel, but died before he could finish it. He created this novel during the last years of the feudal society which revealed all kinds of conflicts and indicated that the ruling class thought was stiff and tyrannical. So the feudal system was doomed to death.
16、 The novel provides a detailed, episodic record of the two branches of the Jia clan, the Rong Mansion and the Ning Mansion, who reside in two large adjacent family compounds in the capital. Their ancestors were made dukes, and as the novel begins the two houses are among the most illustrious familie
17、s in the capital. One of the clans offspring is made an Imperial Consort, and a gigantic landscaped interior garden, named the Prospect Garden, is built to celebrate this event. The novel describes the Jias wealth and influence in great naturalistic detail, and charts the Jias fall from the height o
18、f their prestige, following some thirty main characters and over four hundred minor ones. Eventually the Jia clan falls into disfavor with the Emperor, and their mansions are raided and confiscated. By depicting the decline of the four clans through the witness Wang Xifeng, he revealed and criticize
19、d the disgusting feudal system pungently and violently, especially the feudal patriarchal culture. II. Similarities between Scarlett and Wang XifengLiterary images are immersed in cultural soil without which literary will lose its glory, such as Scarlett and Wang Xifeng. Striking and unique in the w
20、orld literary works, the two female images had a lot in common.A. Complex personality The author of Gone with the Wind created the complex protagonist Scarlett, who was an angel as well as a devil to some extent. Scarlett was pretty and attractive to almost every young man and she knew every means t
21、o attract men, no matter young or old. In the wartime and post war and reconstruction period, she survived the war supported her family and kept Tara, so she deserved peoples admiration not for her beauty but for her extraordinary competence. It was no doubt that her good-looking played a part in ac
22、hieving this. She earned a lot of money by means of hard work, intelligence as well as dirty means. But you cant deny her competence, which was more competitive than any male in the period as well as in the patriarchal society. She once declared that she could do everything as any man does except fo
23、r having baby on her own. This could demonstrate that with the development of capitalism female called for individualism and pursued equal society right with man. Scarlett possessed the quality of maleness and femaleness. On the way from Atlanta to Tara during the Civil War, Rhett deserted Scarlett
24、on half way, she begged, cried and cursed him “oh, you cad, low-down, cowardly, stinking thing” and slapped him across the mouth with all the force she had left. But when Butler really went away, she leaned her head against the bowed neck of the horse and cried. She drove the sick horse thick and th
25、in, avoiding Yankee soldiers and falling asleep like a field hand on hard planks. When she finally returned to Tara, the situation was worse than she expected. Mother passed away and father became old and stunned. There were only three black people left whereas there had been a hundred. There was no
26、 food, no light, and only two sick younger sisters. She drank some whisky first thing when she returned, in spite of her fathers disapproval. She said briefly “I know no lady drinks spirits but today I am no lady.” (Mitchell 345). She had no alternative but to shoulder the responsibility of talking
27、care of the whole family to survive the war. She must act as a man, a host. And she must mange and arranges everything independently. “The OHara did not take charity she thought without surprise, that her shoulders were strong enough to bear anything now; having done the worst that could ever happen
28、 to her.”(Mitchell 71). From above we can see that the war helped her become mature and the whole social environment and historical background built her manly quality, otherwise, she couldnt survive the war and shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family on her own.In order to make a living
29、 and renovate her family, Scarlett did the fieldwork like black slaves. She put out the fire dauntlessly, killed a Yankee soldier for protection of Tara. She did all this as a host of the family. When she married Frank she engaged in the lumber business like a man, because she had a revolutionary th
30、ought that a woman could handle business affairs as well as or better than a man. And she had experienced a lot during the lean month at Tara where she done mens work and done it well; she believe woman could mange everything in the world without mens help, except having babies. Just because of she
31、had such an idea and the capacity of a man. She made a lot of money in managing the sawmill than her new husband Frank. It was no doubt that he had done overshadowed and insulted her husband and caused her husbands death indirectly. The time came for her to exert her competence of a man and testifie
32、d the rule of “survival of the fittest”.Wang Xifeng, who was not the protagonist, though, played such an important part in the whole work that she drew so much attention. One of the celebrated scholars concluded such a famous comment on her “Hate sister Feng, curse sister Feng, but you will miss her
33、 without seeing her”. How wonderful the comment was and key to the point. This unique image was totally different from other images in Chinese classical literary works. Other female are images either perfect such as Cui Yingying and Du Liniang or evil such as Pan Jinlian. The formers character and p
34、ersonality were unilateral. They were pretty, kind, elegant and endowed with traditional virtue. To some extent they were too immaculate or flawless to be true. As it is known that humanity is multilateral. An individual cannot be judged as a good man or a bad man. Human is half angel and half devil
35、. The latters character was another extremity that they were vicious and evil. There is a famous Chinese saying: “Womens hearts are the most vicious”. Confucius, one of the greatest thinkers once saying: “only the women and small beings are hard to breed.” In Chinas thousands years of feudal society
36、, this idea was rooted in peoples mind and was also reflected from literary works. Cao Xueqin created Wang Xifeng, who was such a complex character, that no critics say that she was soft or she was evil. She was very kind to those who were in favorer of her no matter who she was, whether she was abo
37、ve her or who was below her and vicious to those who were against her. The author created her realistically. He didnt deny that Wang Xifeng was good-looking, and all the dressing and decorations were fit for the character. Neither did he eliminate her administrative ability, her intelligence and elo
38、quence.In chapter two Leng Zixing once thought highly of Wang Xifeng, “I hear shes extremely good-looking and a clever talker. She was so resourceful and astute that not a man in the thousand is a match for her.”Mrs. Zhou showed her respect and admiration, “Young as she is, she handles things much b
39、etter than anyone else. As for talking, ten eloquent men are no matches for her.” No one else was so competent as she. Qin praised her as a female hero (heroine), and such an exceptional woman that even men in official belts and caps were no matches for her Wang Xifengs manly character could be judg
40、ed from other peoples comment, which was more objective. And Xifeng showed this personality by displaying her managerial ability as well as her bold words like man. In the wartime, Scarlett shoulders were strong enough to bear anything, having done the worst that could ever happen to her. Whole soci
41、al environment and historical background built her manly quality; otherwise, she could not survive the war and shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family on her own. Wang Xifeng was an exception. In ancient Chinese literary works, she was pretty as well as attractive, but her image beauty
42、depended on her competence, her verified and complex personality.B. ShrewishnessScarletts mother Ellen always taught her to be gentle and gracious, and asks her to love and cherish her two sisters. But she had broken her mothers words. Wang Xifengs first appearance in the novel has deep impression o
43、n us. A person may be known by his or her voice, just as a bird by its song. Scarlett was born in a plantation family in Georgia, the state in the south of the United States. Her living environment played a part in her formation of shrewishness. How about her shrewish behavior? At the party, she dre
44、w attention of almost every man, including Frank Kennedy, her younger sister Sullens boy friend, the Tarlet twins, except Ashley who annoyed her very much. Just in order to get 300 dollars to keep the Tara she played a trick on Frank and was married to him and managed the sawmill gallantly. So Rhett
45、 Butler satirized and praised her, “You were a good risk. Youre got murder to your credit and husband stealing, attempted fornication, lying and sharp dealing and any amount of chicanery that wont bear close inspection.” Admirable as all of these things were, he called her a fine honest rogue. Scarl
46、ett admitted “maybe I am rouge, but I wont be a rogue forever. Ive felt that I was trying a row of a heavily loaded boat in a storm. Ive had so much trouble just trying to keep afloat that I wouldnt be bothered about things that didnt matter. Then I could part with easily and not micas, like good ma
47、nners.” Thats the female rogues monologue, which indicated her life philosophy and norm. so to some extent, Scarlett and Rhett had a lot in common, and in the ending of the novel that Scarlett could not live without him.Scarletts three marriages could illustrate what kind of person she was. For the
48、fist time, she grasped her neighbor Honeys sweetheart Charles, who was a boy. They got married within two weeks. So her first marriage was a blitz, just for spite. The second time, she married Frank who was her younger sisters lover beau and was in his forties. He was slight and nervous, and had a thin ginger-colored beard and old-maidish. So her second marriage was just for money. As for the third marriage, she and Rhett Butler had a lot in comm