Daphne du Maurier (1907#8212;1990) is one of the representatives of British female writers in the twentieth century. In most of her works, she shaped many independent and rebellious new women and showed her disagreement with the male-dominated society.

Known as the best of Daphne du Maurier#8217;s successful works, Rebecca has maintained an unbelievable popularity with women readers. Upon its first publication in 1938, it made an immediate hit and was sold for nearly 3 million copies between 1938 and 1965. Moreover, it has been translated into more than 20 languages and has never gone out of print. For several times, it has been adapted for both stage and screen. Until now, this book has remained a main research object to many writers at home and abroad.

Cao Yu (1910#8212;1996) has been widely acclaimed as an outstanding playwright in China, whose works centering on the Chinese social reality of the 20th century have exerted profound influence on the trend of Chinese modern drama. As his maiden and most famous work, Thunderstorm has been hailed as a sign that Chinese modern drama becomes mature. Until now, Thunderstorm has been translated into several languages and performed on the stage for many times. Besides that, it has also been adapted into TV series and movies.

Rebecca and Fanyi are two best-represented tragic heroines depicted in the two classic works. As two literary figures under different cultural backgrounds, Rebecca and Fanyi both represent typical victims and rebels against male domination. They have similarities and differences from the perspective of feminism, which is worth making concrete analyses. Throughout the research documents in the past about the two women, there are a lot of studies on their personal characters, behavior and mentality reflecting female consciousness. But there is a research that very few experts or scholars have conducted, that is, a comparative analysis between the two figures. Through comparison between Rebecca and Fanyi, this paper will rely on previous study to demonstrate the patriarchal oppression on women and reveal the necessity of feminine consciousness awakening, growth and liberation of women based on a fair relationship between two sexes.

According to the previous studies on Rebecca and Thunderstorm, scholars both in China and abroad have analyzed the female images Rebecca and Fanyi from multiple perspectives.

Rebecca has been viewed as a symbol of the devil for a very long time, but as time goes on, many writers and scholars have started to speak for her. Hu Xiaohua (2003) redefines Rebecca through analyses of her typical words and deeds in the light of feminism to prove that she should be regarded as a new feminist rather than being misunderstood as a hateful bad woman. Kang Jianming amp; Dang Wencong (2008) summarizes a series of Rebecca#8217;s performance reflecting feminism and explores the root of her feminine actions.