摘 要

英国戏剧一直以其出色的制作和对人性的深刻分析而闻名。近年来，炙手可热的《唐顿庄园》是杰出的典范之一。《唐顿庄园》是英国最受欢迎的电视连续剧，显示了20世纪初贵族克劳利家族及其仆人的生活。通过讲述庄园及其居民的故事，《唐顿庄园》描绘了世界上真实的照片。《唐顿庄园》是后现代国家的缩影，与当代社会有很多共同点。 本文试图运用女性主义观点分析《唐顿庄园》中最年轻、最叛逆的女儿西波尔·克劳利的人物形象。首先描述西波尔的性格特点与形成因素，接着分别从她作为亲民贵族、传统的反抗者、女性主义者来具体解析。接着分析她性格特点中的时代特色与局限性，并将她与剧中其他女性形象进行对比。通过对西波尔的人物形象分析，可以加深我们对《唐顿庄园》的理解。

关键词：《唐顿庄园》；西波尔；性格分析；女权主义

Abstract

British drama has always been known for its excellent production and in-depth analyses of human nature. In recent years, the hot "Downton Abbey" is one of the outstanding models. "Downton Abbey" is the most popular TV series in Britain, showing the life of the noble Crowley family and its servants in the early 20th century. By telling the story of the manor and its residents, Downton Abbey depicts real pictures of the world. Downton Abbey is the epitome of a postmodern country, and has much in common with contemporary society. This article attempts to use feminist perspective to analyze the character of Sybil Crowley, the youngest and most rebellious daughter in Downton Abbey. The paper firstly describes Sybil's personality characteristics and forming factors, and then analyzing her in-depth from three roles——as a noble person, as a rebel, as a feminist respectively. Then the paper analyzes the features and limitations of the times in her personality characteristics. In the following part, comparatively study will be carried out between her and other female images in the play. By the analyses of the character image of Sybil，we can deepen our understanding of "Downton Abbey".

Key Words: Downton Abbey; Sybil; Character analyses; feminism

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Feminism 1

2.1. The history of feminism 1

2.2. Awakening of feminism in the UK 2

2.3. Inequality in Downton Abbey 3

3 Character analysis of Sybil from the resistance and persistence 3

3.1 A people-friendly aristocrat 4

3.2 A rebel to traditional customs 5

3.3.A supporter of feminism 7

3.4.A halfway feminist 9

4 Comparism with other female figures in Downton Abbey 10

4.1 Sybil amp; Isobel 10

4.2 Sybilamp; Bunting 11

5 Conclusion 12

References 13

Acknowledgements 14

Analysis of Sybil in Downton Abbey

1 Introduction

The episode "Downton Abbey" is a fictional manor set in in the 1910s of King George V, this is a TV series with British characteristics, showing the various poses of the 20th century society.The complex family relationships, contradictory character traits, ups and downs of the plot in this play, and the pleasing costumes make this play full of charm. It was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most acclaimed English TV series in 2011. In the first year of its broadcast, "Downton Abbey" won several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and awards. This TV series gave the audience a glimpse of "the glorious glory of the Edwardian era, extravagant feasts, garden parties, fox hunting, etc., with almost no flaws".

The play revolves around the noble Crawley family and their servants. The story began in April 1912 when Earl Grantham, Robert Crawley, learned of the news of his successor's death in the "Titanic" shipwreck. Because his three daughters Mary, Edith, and Sybil could not legally be heirs, he had to contact a distant cousin Matthew to be the new heir.

2 Feminism

2.1 The history of feminism

The constant changes in the characters of Downton Abbey are closely related to the rise and development of feminism.

In the development process of the feminist movement, if time is used as the standard, it is generally divided into three waves (first wave, second wave, third wave). The feminist movement has also developed various factions from the initial political movements and political demands, devoted to studying discrimination, stereotypes, materialization (mainly focused on sexualization), female body, housework distribution, oppression and The construction of the patriarchal system and other subjects.

From a longitudinal perspective—that is, from the perspective of time, the development of the feminist movement can be roughly divided into three periods. The first period is generally considered to be from the beginning of the Western Enlightenment in the 18th century to about 1960. This is the feminist movement. In the initial stage, it was mainly for women ’s equality in social rights and against the aristocratic class ’s idea of degrading women; the second stage was roughly from the 1960s to 1970s. The main demands of the feminist movement during this period focused on “gender on top of the pursuit of equal political rights, during this period, a large number of feminist theoretical studies began to emerge, and various factions emerged; the third period mainly refers to the period after the 1970s. The main focus of the movement is women’s self-esteem, self-confidence, self-awareness, self-care and self-government. Through various social movements and social organizations to achieve social aspirations, they are committed to improving society’s sensitivity to gender.

2.2 Awakening of feminism in the UK

The feminist movement originated from the West and had a great relationship with the Western Enlightenment from the 18th to the 19th centuries. At that stage, the ideological innovation that gradually developed from Britain to most European countries allowed people ’s ideas to be liberated from religion. At this stage of objective rationality, human rights are proposed and considered, some thinkers have already questioned the inequality of the gender structure of men and women. For example, Mary Wollstonecraft in the United Kingdom and the famous "Defense of Women's Rights" written in 1792, she did not clearly define the concept of "equality between men and women. It is from the perspective that women’s education is significantly less than men ’s. It is proposed that if women get more opportunities for education, women’s talents can be fully utilized and can play the role of “social elite”.

British feminism began to develop in the 20th century, and the voice of feminism surfaced. Women demanded the right to vote and participated in election campaigns, proving to society and men that women can make a difference in society. The feminist movement gradually developed into an organized movement. Among the well-known movements were Emily Pankast’s disclosure of sexism in the British system.At this stage, the industrial revolution brought about changes in the social structure. The Industrial Revolution introduced the family into society, transformed many women’s identities, updated their ideology, and directly promoted the awakening of women ’s self-awareness. While the Industrial Revolution brought ideological enlightenment to women’s liberation, it also provided women with an unmatched basis for struggle. The development of productivity was bound to bring about changes in gender relations. In the field of ideology, the Industrial Revolution advocated equal opportunities and free competition. The productivity created in this period is unmatched in any era, which provided rationality for the existence and development of women ’s liberation and gender equality. It also provided an opportunity to eliminate social prejudice. Feminists had more free social conditions to express their desires, and put forward a gender theory.

2.3 Inequality in Downton Abbey

"Downton Abbey" shows the pictures of 20th-century British aristocrats and poor people, the differences between men and women in inheriting their heritage, and different images of women. Mary became a tool in exchange for property, which fully reflected the patriarchal culture. Men are supreme, leaders and commanders, and women are only subordinates and dependents. Through marriage, keeping one ’s life and improving living conditions is the only way for women to survive, which means that women can survive by dedicating their body and spirit to men. "Downton Abbey" shows this unabashedly. For example, after Robert inherited the title of Earl, he faced a serious financial crisis, so he married Cora, the daughter of the American textile tycoon. The tycoon’s daughter brought a rich dowry, which made the Downton Abbey shine again, and the huge dowry became the earl ’s property. In part, Cora made the biggest sacrifice and still had no status in the family. She had been married to the manor for many years and was still ridiculed and satirized by the Earl's mother.

Character analysis of Sybil from the resistance and persistence

Sybil, the youngest daughter of this wealthy family, has a strong political consciousness and is very concerned about the vulnerable groups. Unlike other family members, she showed great interest in politics and civil rights, especially women's voting rights. She surpassed various family disputes and didn't care about issues like inheritance. She ignored all the opposition and married The Irish driver at home, Tom Branson, a supporter of the radical Irish independence movement.

3.1A people-friendly aristocrat

Under the strong feudal system of class consciousness at that time, Sybil showed noble qualities with people. As a noble, she never revealed her identity and status. She is the most beloved princess of the nobility and the most popular lady in the eyes of servants. As the youngest daughter in the family, Sybil has no spoiled habits, and treats family members and domestic servants kindly. According to the old lady in the play, any form of labor is not respectable and unacceptable. But Sybil was reluctant to be a person who would only be served. She even went downstairs to ask the kitchen lady how to make cakes. She consulted the chef patiently over and over in the kitchen. Therefore, Isobel recommended her to attend the nurse class. Sybil concealed the survivability, boiled eggs, and made tea from the family and servants. Mrs. Pat Moore asked her, would you pick up the pot for water? Sybil replied confidently, "Who wouldn't this!" But Sybil made a joke in practice. Mrs. Palmer jokingly said, "Really no one will!"The servants are not afraid of Miss Sybil and are willing to joke with her.

She was concerned about the feelings of people around her and cheer for their lives. Her maid Gwen was unwilling to be a maid in the castle all her life, determined to find a way out for her future. She spent all her savings to buy a printer and wanted to be a secretary. But no one supported her, including her parents. In fact, in Britain in the early 20th century, many women preferred to be a maid in a large house rather than work in a narrow office from morning till night. In the patriarchal society before World War I, men imposed a value and role on women, that was, staying at home as a good wife and mother, a maid who would like to achieve such a dream would face various challenges. But Sybil not only encouraged the maid to insist, but also personally contributed to her. Here, Sybil's support and affirmation of women's economic independence had been vaguely reflected. Everyone excepted Sybil thought Gwen's choice was ridiculous. Only Sybil understood and supported her, informed her of the latest job information, and voluntarily wrote letters of recommendation for her, encouraging her to live her own life. She did not laugh at her efforts because she was a maid or a woman. For the dreams of others, Sybil continuously helped the maid Gwen to contact her work. Even when Gwen himself gave up, she did not give up. Shed helped interview, and advised her. When applying for a position, Sybil lent her her clothes and drove the carriage to let her take the test. Even if it got muddy, there was no regret. When a person who installed a phone came to the manor to install a phone, Sybil also tried everything to recruit a secretary. With Sybil's efforts, Gwen's dream finally came true.

3.2 A rebel to traditional customs

Sybil has her own independent thinking and freedom of choice. She is unwilling to be a conservative in a patriarchal society. The first is reflected in the dress. In addition to dresses that must be worn on major occasions, Sybil's daily dresses are long skirts and shirts with light colors, simple and comfortable styles. The British hierarchy is not only reflected in the political system, but also in the clothing. The costumes of the nobles are extremely gorgeous and exquisite, and the costumes of the servants are much bleak compared with others. Therefore, in Britain, the costumes show people's ranks, which are specifically reflected in "Downton Abbey". Nobles need to change a few sets of clothes according to different occasions every day. Breakfast is relatively simple. For lunch, afternoon tea and the most solemn dinner, the clothes for each meal are different. It can be said that this drama is a good history of the development of British clothing. The costumes of the old widow before the First World War were gorgeous and exaggerated. She was a loyal fan of the Victorian era. Top hats were necessary accessories to highlight the identity and charm of women during that period. The hats of female nobles were often innumerable, and they had different styles and exquisite workmanship. However, the top hats worn by Sybil were generous and not cumbersome, similar to those of young maids. Dressing up reflects her rebellion against tradition. Sybil's custom-made clothing for the social season more fully reflects her undisciplined character.

In Sybil's view, women should not be troubled by trivial things, they should be pursued like men, and have the opportunity to be released. Sybil hopes to pursue the same equality as men, but the youngest lady and the second lady at home think that women should follow the existing laws and follow the rules. The aristocratic costumes in the manor were still dominated by elegant long skirts in the 20th century, but Sybil boldly challenged the patriarchal world. Women can also have the power of choice like men, and they can be free from restrictions. You can also wear trousers.