1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述包含参考文献）

Literature Review With the popularity of Fitzgerald#8217;s works, most scholars have tended to analyze his works from the perspective of patriarchal views but seldom from that of female consciousness. Under such circumstances, scholars have little knowledge of Fitzgerald#8217;s feminism and female consciousness, especially the differences between his early and later works, which deserve studying. 1. Definition of female consciousness and feminism Female consciousness is a derivative of feminism. Feminism is a means of checking literary works which roles those works play in the breakdown of suppression on women, as agents or poisons (Tyson, 81). In the eyes of critics in this arena, the prime way to suppress women was to build traditional images of men and women; that is, man was rational, strong-minded, decisive and dominant while woman was on the other way round. Under the control of patriarchal society, females were just divided into the good and the bad based on males#8217; views, under which circumstances they were being under suppression (Hu Zhao, 2007). Tender is the Night does confirm to the criteria of the above-mentioned works. Critiques believe that the evils in the eyes of Fitzgerald were the representatives of modern women based on his prejudice on females and his patriarchal minds (Li, Guan Xu, 2005; Wang, 2011). Those modern women who endeavor to fight for their rights and social status are against the mainline of society and are regarded as the bad ones. Their brave endeavors had to do with their female consciousness. It is feminism that brought about female consciousness. Influenced by the times and social background, Fitzgerald was in a dilemma whether to support gender equality or not. Female characters in his works were shifted from being submissive to rebellious, a phenomenon that could be called female consciousness. 2. The emergence of female consciousness 2.1 Differences between female characters of Fitzgerald#8217;s works in early and later times Accordingly, scholars argue that behind the shadow of his prejudice and discrimination over females were Fitzgerald#8217;s subtle but ever-increasing consciousness of social equality and feminism. Some analyzed it referring to the negative description of female characters and females#8217; attempts to free themselves from suppression (Fan, 2012). And others preferred to interpret it from men#8217;s desire for dominance over rebellious women (Yang, Xia Yang, 2015). Evidently, the emergence of female consciousness is a primary difference between Fitzgerald#8217;s early and later works. Some scholars endeavored to interpret Fitzgerald#8217;s female consciousness by decoding female characters. Most of them tended to make a comparison (Li, 2006; Wang, 2010; Xiang, 2011; Zhou, 2015). In Fitzgerald#8217;s later works, whoever they are, female characters more or less have a sense of rebellion against patriarchal society. Scholars argue that although some female characters aroused female consciousness in different ways such as Nicole and Rosemary in Tender is the Night, the effects on them reached the same goal by different means (Xiang, 2011). 2.2 Symbols Symbols also lend a sense of female consciousness to Fitzgerald#8217;s works. A series of images, such as titles, incidents, colors functioned as useful agents to reveal emotions, themes, characters (Liu, 2007). Only by doing so could the author strengthen the criticism of the American Dream. In Tender is the Night, the novel is entitled with deep connotations by using the images of the characters#8217; names, the movies#8217; names, incidents, colors, and titles, leaving enough space for imagination and understanding so as to stress the themes of the work . It is added that multiform and characteristic symbols help develop the theme of American dream and female consciousness (Lei, 2010). And readers might find easier to understand the themes in Fitzgerald#8217;s works than those in others#8217; thanks to the use of symbols. 3. Limitations in the previous studies Reviewing the above-mentioned studies on female consciousness in Tender is The Night, we can find some limitations of the previous studies. First of all, seldom has someone explored female consciousness in Fitzgerald#8217;s works from the perspective of female characters#8217; psychology. Psychology plays a vital role in the portrayal of character, their features in particular. In spite of the fact that some scholars have been aware of its importance, most of them tended to decode the character#8217;s psychological minds drawing on some substances such as letters, shopping lists so as to restore her images as she gradually recovers and seeks after mental independence (Xia, 2009). The lack of directly analysis of psychological changes remains to be further elaborated on in this essay. Then, the studies on symbols up to now just analyzed symbols themselves but didn#8217;t closely connect them with female consciousness. Essays on symbols are mainly centered on different themes or the whole novel but few of them focus on symbols in portrayal of characters. Those results are not persuasive enough to be evident for showing female consciousness. Last, differences between the female characters of Fitzgerald#8217;s works in early and later times are only surrounded with the general images of female characters. The reasons for the female characters from being submissive to rebellious that showed female consciousness have not yet mentioned, which might be articulated by analyzing characters#8217; psychology and be studied in further researches.

2. 研究的基本内容、问题解决措施及方案

Purpose and Significance of the Study The period between World War I and World War II witnessed a dramatic transformation. It was demonstrated that the horror of World War I and the most destructive conflict the world had yet seen troubled the public that had blindly believed in technological progress but ignored its destruction. After the WWI, America and Europe went through significant social changes, leading to a pervasive feeling of confusion and disillusion. Both ever-increasing immigration from eastern Europe and Asia and the accelerated pace of urbanization during this period heightened the sense of change. The world that Americans are now living in are quite different from that of the previous generations, bringing about the breakdown of the economy, unemployment, hunger and poverty. Meanwhile, faced with their addiction to alcohol, people were strictly restricted by Prohibition, a law that directly caused a widespread illegal trade in alcohol Darkness comes along with dawn. During the period of recovery, American life was reshaped by political changes, especially suffrage. Women came to step to the stage and finally won the right to vote after the Nineteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1920, which was good to women, but not to some men. Instilled with the conventional patriarchal value of American culture for a long time, those men found it hard to accept the fact that they had to share the equal status with women. On the one hand, they understood it was a social tendency that was bound to take place in modern society; on the other hand, they had been instilled with the traditional patriarchal views since they were young. Under such circumstances, those men were in confusion and hoped to have access to eliminate their confusion. Some chose to write down their feelings, and F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the typical. In his works, feminism and consciousness were portrayed together. However, the two occurred on a consecutive basis. As the breakdown of the economy developed in real world, female consciousness gradually overshadowed feminism and finally became dominant, which could be proven by the changing features of female characters in his works. The female characters in Fitzgerald#8217;s works from being submissive to rebellious was a solid evidence to the awakening of gender equality in Fitzgerald#8217;s minds, which were shown by using symbolism and portraying female psychology on a large scale. As the last finished work of Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night witnessed the most obvious transformation of the females#8217; features, from submission to rebellion, which allows readers to get close to the inner world of Fitzgerald and his feminist values. The study hopes to dig out the underlying female consciousness so much as to have a deeper understanding of that era rather than just literature. Perspectives of the study The purpose of the study is to analyze female consciousness in Tender is the Night. It centers on the two perspectives: the portrayal of the female characters#8217; psychology and the use of symbols and images. From the perspective of the female characters#8217; psychology, the study choose Nicole and Rosemary, the two main female characters in Tender is the Night. The study mainly finds out female consciousness in the change of their psychological states. The process of the change can be divided into several stages. The degree of female consciousness in every stage is different and deserves respectively analyzing. Due to characters#8217; disparity, there are similarities and differences in the process of mental independence of Nicole and Rosemary, which is also included in this part. Another perspective is female consciousness in the use of symbols and images. Symbols and images are commonly used in Fitzgerald#8217;s works. In Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald used some typical symbols to reflect themes as usual. Those symbols can be generally divided into two groups: the material group including movies, curtains, etc. and the intangible group including colors, words, name and so on. Aside from symbols appearing once, female consciousness in Tender is the Night is also implied by a comparison between the different meanings of the symbol appearing in different chapters. Nicole#8217;s shopping lists are the good instances. The former one is confusing and disordered and but the latter is clear and concise, which indicates her mental independence and female consciousness. In the wake of the respective analyses, underlying reasons for the emergence of female consciousness are discussed, which are explained from the subjective perspective and the objective perspective. The subjective perspective focuses on the author himself, his family background and influences from his friends. And the historical background belongs to objective perspective. Conclusion The post-war period brought about both the decline of patriarchal society and the emergence of female consciousness, the two of which contradict with each other. One of the typical examples is the changing status of males and females. Some people of insight were awakened by the clash between the two so much as to more or less push forward the social change no matter which side they favored.