On Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s My Poor Aunfrom the Perspective of Feminism.docVIP

On Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s My Poor Aunfrom the Perspective of Feminism 　　【Abstract】Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a utopian feminist during a time when her accomplishments were very rare and exceptional for women. The thesis intends to analyze some feminist ideas from the perspective of feminism， together with the study of historical background of the novel. By comparing different reactions of three female protagonists in My Poor Aunt when they suffer the repression of dominant patriarchal family and the constraint of their own talent， which also reveals that protagonists’ fates in Gilman’s works coincide with the growth of her feminist ideas. 　　【Key words】Gilman； My Poor Aunt； feminist awareness 　　Charlotte Perkins Gilman （1860-1935） is a renowned American feminist novelist at the ending of the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century， whose works become the feminist classics. Gilman’s early works， With the development of Gilman’s personal life experience， the theme of her work transforms from opposing patriarchal oppression to seeking female potential and realization of self-worth. My Poor Aunt is one excellent work of Gilman which embodies such a theme. However， scholars in China do not attach enough importance to this research. The thesis intends to analyze this novel from the perspective of feminism， together with the study of historical background of the novel 　　In this story My Poor Aunt ， the procedure of those family members’ confrontation is an argument or a fight of the narrator’s distinguish feminist consciousness against the traditional patriarchal thoughts. In the bodies of little Kate and her aunt Kate there exists particular and mature feminist awareness reflected in three aspects： pursuit of self-independence， pursuit of self-actualization and marriage autonomy. 　　Pursuit of Self- independence 　　Gilman asserted： “The most fundamental economic need lies behind the foundation of whole social structure and its effect runs through ancie