摘 要

服饰是人类文化的表征，也是文学作品的亮点。服饰描写对人物塑造起着最直观的作用—服饰不但可以描摹出人物的外在特征，更能体现出人物的内心世界。人的精神境界是由其世界观、人生观、价值观决定的，因此它影响着人们的思想境界、道德情操和行为准则。基于上述内容，本文尝试以精神境界层面来分析《飘》、《简•爱》、《名利场》和《小妇人》中四位女性人物的服饰，以此来探寻其精神境界。通过分析研究，这四位女性人物分别对应欲求、自我、道德三种境界。

目前，学者们一般通过人物服饰来分析其身份地位、个性特征以及人物处境等， 鲜有以人物服饰来分析其精神境界方面的研究资料。本文通过女性人物的服饰来探索其精神境界，为文学作品中的服饰描写分析以及人物的精神探索之路提供新的思路。

关键词：女性人物；服饰；灵魂

Abstract

Costume is the symbol of human culture as well as the highlight in literature. Apparel description is the most direct way of characterization that not only depicts external features of characters, but also reflects their rich inner world. The level of one’s spiritual state is determined by his or her worldview, outlook on life and values. It affects people’s ideological states, moral sentiment and codes of conduct. Based on the above, this paper tries to explore the spiritual states by analyzing the costumes of four female characters in Gone with the Wind,Jane Eyre, Vanity Fair and Little Woman. Through the analysis and study, the four female characters respectively correspond to the three soul states—utilitarian, instinct, and moral.

At present, the scholars usually analyze characters’ status, personality and situation through costumes. However, there is few data to analyze characters’ spiritual states from the respect of costumes. This paper explores female characters’ soul states through their costumes to provide new ideas for the analysis of costume description and the way of spiritual exploration of the characters in literary works.

Key Words：female characters; suit; soul

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Utilitarian-Oriented Female Suit 4

2.1 Scarlett O’Hara 4

2.2 Rebecca Sharpin 6

3 Instinct-Oriented Female Suit: Josephine March 8

4 Moral-Oriented Female Suit: Jane Eyre 10

5 Conclusion 14

References 15

Acknowledgements 17

Female Suit and Soul in Literature

1 Introduction

On the one hand, apparel is the crystallization of human wisdom and the significant milestone in the progress of civilization as well as one of the most glorious chapters in the history of human culture. Garment is a specific symbol that records human stepping into the gate of civilization. Clothing has three functions that cold prevention, covering, and display. The costumes carry the rich content of folk culture, system culture and aesthetic culture, having the characteristics of practicality, ethic and ethnicity. Dress is the epitome of history that represents both the material culture and the spiritual culture. Literature is also the epitome of history, and the development of costume culture leaves a deep imprint in literary works. Costumes in the novel embody character’s social status, personality and inner world. Therefore, as the symbol of human culture as well as the highlights in literature, to some extent,costumes can reflect one's spiritual state. On the other hand, one's state ofthe soul is determined by his or her worldview, outlook on life and values. The state of soul dominates each of us in the pursuit of life and the path of life, affects our ideological state, moral sentiment and code of conduct. As a unique way of life, spirit prompts people to live in their ideals, beliefs, emotions, thoughts, and aesthetic moods. The spiritual life of people gives them the inner world by which they have the dignity. The inner world leads and defines the external reality, and materializes the same external life content; and the external life content of people reflects their spiritual life level and orientation of life.

Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the WindandRebecca in Vanity Fair, both of them regards garments as social weapon, hoping with the help of various dresses that show their feminine charms, they can gain what .they want. Josephine March in Little Womanis a girl who sticks to her instinct all the time. She does not like those fancy dresses. What she likes is those apparels that seem like boys wear, is her black apron, because these clothes make her not feel be constrained, make her aware of her value. Jane Eyre is a virtuous girl with many moral excellences, her dress and dress idea embody her good characters.

Most of the scholars have no objection to the view that apparel is the product of human civilization. Chinese scholar contends that dress is the symbol of human progressing into the civilized world, is the symbol of one’s identity and status. Dress and adornment can reflect a person’s gender, age, nationality, socioeconomic status, personality, occupation, hobbies, values, etc.(Fan, 2013) Zhang Ruan argues that as the most direct and vital way of creating characters, garment description not only represents the outside features of characters, but also reveals their colorful internal world.(Zhang, 2006) In her dissertation, Shen Weiyan contends that costume is the combined condensation of material culture and spiritual culture, known as “the second skin of human beings” and “the silent language”. (Shen, 2009) Besides, with the development of science and the study of scholars, the other diversified functions of apparel are known as well. A Chinese scholar’s research believes that as an important symbol of human civilization, is an important carrier and media of human culture for its symbolic feature. (Zeng, 2013) Another scholar agrees that the history of human being is the history of creation and application of symbols. As a significant nonverbal sign, garment is an obvious cultural product and cultural phenomenon. (Liu, 2014) Some scholars give the viewpoint from the perspective of psychology that apparel is the human psychological expression and the language symbol of interpersonal communication in psychology. Dress behavior is the externalization or manifestation of human psychology, and individual dress behavior is the performance of one’s psychological characteristics or psychological state. (Ye, 2004)

Moreover, it does not lack the research of female costume. Studies have shown that the first half of nineteenth Century, because of the low social status and the shackle of traditional moral standards, the United States women had to wear clothes which shows male preferences, for this their body was greatly restrained and hurt. From 1848 to 1920, American women launched the first women liberation movement, from which they improved their social status, became free and independent in spirit, and were able to get rid of the shackles of corsets and bloated skirts. They were given a freer right to dress. (Zheng, 2009) There is an investigation claims that garment to a certain extent, reflects the wearer’s aesthetic pursuit and aesthetic sentiment. Female costumes make up for their character in the process of self-shaping. They dress themselves appropriately in order to construct their own attributes.(Yang, 2003)

At home and abroad, most of the interpretation of people soul state is affiliated to the category of philosophy or religion. Based on the different religion systems and philosophical thoughts, the concepts of spiritual life and spiritual realm are diverse between the East and the West. In China, scholars usually discuss the soul state from the perspective of philosophy which based on different school, such as Confucianism and Taoism. Zhang Dainian puts forward his viewpoint that there is a great difference of individual spiritual life between each other. Some people’s spiritual life is rich and noble, while others’ spiritual life is rather vulgar. Different degrees of spiritual life reveals different spiritual realm. People's soul states have the rank of high and low, perceptive and unperceptive. (Zhang, 1994) Yang Zhenxu expressed his views on the soul states. The spiritual realm is the mental state that people formed in the process of seeking to live. It refers to the level and gradation of people’s spiritual world or spiritual quality. (Zhang, 2008) Another two scholars contend that people must pursue the existence of life beyond material life, and pursue the spiritual value of the truth, the good and the beautiful. It is this pursuit that distinguishes man from other animals. (Xu,2016) A Chinese scholar emphasized the role of the spiritual state in the country. He claims that spiritual realm is of great importance to a country, a nation, or to a people. It is the core component of a nation's culture, and it is an important symbol of the quality of a country, a nation and its people .(Yang,1997) In the West, people cannot discuss soul states without religion and Bible. Western scholar Sri Chinmoy considers that the spiritual life is something that is natural and normal. The spiritual life is normal and natural precisely because it knows its source. Its source is God the infinite light and God the eternal truth. People are all seekers. Each seeker represents the ideal and the real. The ideal is self-transcendence and the real is God’s all-pervading Consciousness. As to spiritual realm, in The Heavenly or Spiritual Realm, Dele Oke mentioned, it refers to the “heavenlies” as a label for the spiritual realms that exist alongside the physical world. The spiritual realms are just as real as the physical world we can see. These two realms overlap and interact with each other.

2 Utilitarian-oriented Female Suit

“Ladies dress up for the man who loves her” seems to be the universal law by which females dress. Early in 1929, the American costume psychologist Elizabeth B·Harlock put up with an important motive for dressing in her work The Psychology of Dress, which is the need for sexual attraction. In her book, she talked about the habit of dressing in primitive society often begins with the first wedding night, so clothing is undoubtedly the signal of sexual maturity, is also a tool of sexual attraction. In the patriarchal society, although the clothing and make-up are serving the women, it is used to delight the male. Whether it is the bad habits of ancient Chinese foot-binding, or the popularity of high-heeled shoes and miniskirts in modern society, which embodies the charm of female body, can reflect the impact of male preferences for woman’s dress aesthetics.