摘 要

《简·爱》和《达洛维夫人》分别是十九世纪和二十世纪女性主义文学的代表作，通过对比作者在两部作品中展现的女性主义思想，不难发现其中的异同。相同的是两部作品都聚焦于当时社会对女性的压迫和歧视，以及女主人公面对压迫的态度；不同的是，相比《简·爱》，《达洛维夫人》的故事背景更加庞大和复杂，以及作者在《达洛维夫人》中，展现了她对实现男女平等的途径的一些思考和探索，体现了女性主义在从十九世纪到二十世纪的发展——从陈述问题到试图解决问题。而女性主义能取得这样的发展，要归功于女性在当时的经济、政治。社会地位上的提升。这个结论也给如今正在为实现男女平权奋斗的人们提供了思路：应当鼓励更多的女性积极参与到经济、政治、社会生活中来。

关键词：英国女性主义，发展，《简·爱》，《达洛维夫人》

Abstract

Jane Eyre and Mrs. Dalloway are the masterpieces of feminist literature in the 19^th century and 20^th century. It is not difficult to find the similarities and differences among them by comparing the feminist ideas exhibited by the authors in the two works. The similarity is that both works focus on the oppression and discrimination of women in society at that time, and the attitude of the heroine towards oppression; the difference is that compared to Jane Eyre, the background of Mrs. Dalloway is even larger and more complex, and the author, in Mrs. Dalloway, shows her reflection and exploration of ways to achieve equality between men and women, reflecting the development of feminism from the 19^th century to the 20^th century - from presenting the problem to trying to solve the problem. It is due to the improvement of women's economic, political, and social status at the time that feminism can achieve such development . This conclusion also provides a way for people who are now struggling to achieve equality between men and women: more women should be encouraged to actively participate in economic, political and social life.

Key Words: British feminism; development; Jane Eyre; Mrs. Dalloway

Contents

1 Introduction.................................................................................................................1

1.1 Brief Introduction to the Two Authors and Two Books.................................1

1.2 Literature Review...........................................................................................3

1.3 Framework of the Thesis................................................................................4

2 Comparison of Feminism in Jane Eyre and Mrs Dalloway........................................6

2.1 Similarity of Feminism in Two Books...........................................................6

2.2 Difference of Feminism in Two Books..........................................................8

2.3 Development of British Feminism from 19^th Century to 20^th Century.........10

3 Analysis of the Reasons of the Development of British Feminism...........................12

3.1 Economic Reason.........................................................................................12

3.2 Political Reason............................................................................................13

3.3 Social Reason...............................................................................................15 Conclusion....................................................................................................................17

References....................................................................................................................18

Acknowledgements......................................................................................................20

From Jane Eyre to Mrs. Dalloway: The Development of British Feminism from 19th to 20th Century

1 Introduction

This chapter mainly introduces the object of research in this paper, the status of feminist research in the British literature from the 19^th to the 20^th century and the framework of the thesis.

1.1 Brief Introduction to the Two Authors and Two Books

As representative of feminist writers, both Charlotte Bronte and Virginia Woolf expressed their own complaints about how the social environment bullied women and some thoughts on women's living environment in their respective literary creations.

Charlotte Bronte, like her two sisters, Emily Bronte and Anne Bronte, she is a famous female writer in the history of English literature. From the time of her girlhood, Charlotte showed an unusual interest in literary creation: at the age of twenty, she sent her poems to the the famous Poet Laureate Robert Southey and asked him for advice, although Southey advised her not to regard writing poetry as her whole career and abnegate the responsibility of women, he also encouraged her not to completely abandon poetry creation, but should regard poetry as the pure enjoyment of the best moment.When Charlotte Bronte was 30 years old, the three sisters published a collection of poems at their own expense. They sold only two books and received almost no feedback, only a short commentary affirmed Emily’s talent. Even if they have never received an affirmation and praise from outside, the three sisters did not give up their literary creation career. In the summer of 1864, during the operation of their father who was almost blind, despite the difficult situation, the Bronte sisters continued to write, and the three sisters each wrote a novel. What was truly regretful was, while Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and Anne Bronte's Agnes Gray were accepted by publishers and received the 、opportunity to publish, Charlotte's The Professor was rejected for many times. However, Charlotte was not discouraged. In the boring environment that she accompanied her father to receive operation to heal his eyes, she began to write Jane Eyre, a novel that made her truly famous and walked into the public eyes.

Jane Eyre is a story of a British woman who has turned into an orphan since her childhood and pursues freedom and dignity in various hardships, and finally gains happiness. The heroin of the story, Jane Eyre, as a plain orphan, is cruelly treated in childhood by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, a harsh and unsympathetic woman on whom she depends. Because Jane reacts strongly against her aunt’s bad treatment, she is sent away to a charity school, Lowood Charity. There she suffers a lot both physically and mentally, only consoled by a kind teacher, Miss Temple. Jane Eyre stays at the school for 8 years, and then becomes governess at Thorn field Hall. Mr. Rochester, the master of the manor, is fascinated by her wit and courageous spirit and falls in love with her. This is the same with her. But their marriage is prevented by the revelation that he has had a wife, a raving mad woman, still alive. Shocked and deeply hurt, Jane makes up her mind to leave him and flees to the Moor House. The Rivers family takes her in. St. John Rivers, a very handsome clergyman who is determined to devote himself to God, almost succeeds in making her agree to marry him. But she refuses and finally goes back to Rochester, who is a blind and free man. Then they marry and live a content life.

Comparing with Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf lived a much tougher life. Although born in an elite family of intellectuals, Woolf was not treated fairly. The boys in her family who were half-brothers with her could receive school education, but as a girl, Woolf and her sisters could only complete the accumulation of knowledge through the teaching of tutors. When Woolf was still young, her parents passed away in succession. The death of her parents caused Woolf’s two psychological collapses. After her father’s death, she even tried to commit suicide by jumping out of the window. The changes in her girlhood made Woolf a melancholy girl. She used to utilize diaries and letters to record her daily life, which latter became the beginning of her creation. Since 1906, Virginia's brothers began to bring friends they met in Cambridge to come to their house and they gradually formed a literary and academic circle, known as the Bloomsbury Group. Under the influence of these elites, the spirit of freedom and equality goes deep into Woolf's heart, and her creation is therefore unique and focuses more on spiritual expression.

Mrs. Dalloway is a novel of consciousness. The novel depicts the details of the life of the protagonist Clarissa Dalloway in the UK after World War I. The protagonist Mrs. Dalloway is a glorious middle-aged lady of the upper class. On the day she continued to prepare an evening party for her husband, her former lover, Peter Walsh, who returned from India, her friend Sally Seton, who was admired by her in her teenage years; Septimus Smith, a war survivor who suffered a Shell Shock, as well as the various characters in London's social circle, have been moving through her thoughts, bringing up her memories of past youth and the panic of old age. She suddenly felt that something deep inside her heart was gradually losing in "corruption, lies, and chats every day." She has grown into a political banquet hostess who is a source of glory, but has sacrificed the right to experience the essential meaning of life. Mrs. Dalloway was also a young girl who had many wonderful pursuits for the future, and now she is just an ornament of the upper class in London. In these confrontations, Mrs. Dalloway longs for a free heart to fight against the constraints of tradition and the demands of the environment. Should she persist in resistance or compromise? In the crossroads of survival and emotion, Mrs. Dalloway is painful and embarrassed. Of course, she finally chooses to compromise. It can be said that from the girl Clarissa to Mrs. Dalloway's life for decades, it is a life sonata full of struggles and compromises.