1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述包含参考文献）

Kate Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is now considered by some scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminist authors of Southern or Catholic background. Some of her works have appeared on the screen. She has been famous for her novel The Awakening. Not so much research has been done regarding Kate Chopin until 1960s since she was not that famous as the contemporary authors. Due to her excessive description and compliment on the sex and deviant women, she was not praised but condemned by people. She was not accepted since people at that time were still pious puritans even though dramatic changes had been made to change people#8217; s daily lives. This can be clearly understood through people#8217; s reactions to her novel The Awakening, which was accused of vulgarity and disquieting when published. Only when she was dead had people begun to accept this bolshy novel. Most of the research on Kate Chopin can be divided into three main parts: the pure study of feminism, the analysis on writing techniques and the analysis on character images. Kate Chopin was known as an inchoate feminist writer. Since she started the beginning of feminism, some scholars studied her early understanding on feminism. Xiong Jiayi(2012) analyzed Kate Chopin#8217; s novel The Awakening to study the awakening of the feminism in her novel. From the perspective of feminism, she reinterpreted this novel and analyzed the manifestation of feminism through the protagonist#8217; s spiritual statues, social activities and material aspects. Other researches have been done on the analysis on the means of artistic expression. One of the biggest features of Kate Chopin#8217; s writing techniques is the irony and much researches have been done on this subject. Wang Jiagui(2015) interpreted this technique in Chopin#8217; s short story The Story of an Hour. The irony of the novel lies in both the mental changes in the mere one hour and the satirizing ending. The misdiagnose of the doctor pushed the story to an ironic climax. What#8217; s more, through the prudent choice of the vocabulary, the author strengthens the atmosphere of irony. Sun Shengzhong(2012) gave a detailed analysis on The Story of an Hour and The Storm. He pointed out that sarcasm was the most- often used technique in Chopin#8217; s story. He added that Kate Chopin herself was an irony. When The Awakening was published, it did not receive much approval or compliment. While she died, it became a hit. He also talked about several other techniques that most people had not ever noticed. For instance, symbolism in her fiction The Storm. One of the most apparent image, which is also the main image in this fiction is the storm. It symbolizes the heroine ”s awakening consciousness and eruptible emotions. The fiction starts along the arrival of storm and ends with the decline of storm. So does her emotions. As about the analysis on character images , much research had been done on the heroine of The Awakening - Edna. Qu Min(2018) gave a thorough analysis on Edna#8217; s borderline disorder personality. She explained the reason why Edna#8217; s disorder personality appeared. Others interpreted the women characters in The Awakening and other novels. Yang Yuemei(2012) introduced 7 women characters from Chopin#8217; s novels. She defined each women characters with specific labels. For example, D#233;sir#233;e, from D#233;sir#233;e#8217; s Baby, was a suicidal woman, the ideal mother -- Ad#233;le Ratignolle. However, it is a pity that some of these researches were not combined with the contemporary American women#8217; living situation. Different researches have been done on Kate Chopin#8217; s fictions from various perspectives. From the above, we know that researches had been on these three aspects: the pure study of feminism, the analysis on writing techniques and the analysis on character images, which deserves further and more thorough study. In this situation, this thesis will analyze women characters in A Pair of Silk Stockings, The Story of an Hour and The Awakening in the light of feminism. Through the analysis on Mrs. Sommers, Mrs. Mallard and Edna in light of feminism, I will explore the awakening of female consciousness reflected in Chopin#8217;s fictions. This is the purpose of this thesis. Moreover, this thesis will spare efforts on the social milieu at that time to study how the female consciousness was shaped in Kate Chopin#8217;s fiction.

2. 研究的基本内容、问题解决措施及方案

To start with, it is essential and critical to read the original books and translated versions, which directly influences the understanding and analysis of the whole story. Before reading it thoroughly, I preview the preface of the book. With a general understanding of the novel, I focused on the detailed reading. Excerptions of the important sentences and paragraphs are of crucial importance while reading since it will help quote evidences as paper statements. Moreover, important plots are highlighted for review. In the process of intensive reading, I write down the heroines#8217; mental changes for reference and my viewpoints on the story. Apart from the analysis on story, abundant information about the author should be included. The plots would be more easily understood if we connect the author#8217; s experience with the heroine#8217; s undergoing. Besides, master thesis or journal articles should be read as references to our selection of the topic of our own thesis. Excellent ideas might derive from others#8217; journals. Last but not least, the beneficial advice of my supervisor is of fatal importance. She points out the shortcomings and offers me relevant advice. Apparently, reading original books, collecting relevant materials, taking notes and discussing with my supervisor are the main methods of this research. Then I came up with the main structure of the paper. Since Kate Chopin is a pioneering feminist writer, the first chapter of my thesis will be a thorough introduction to the author and the fictions. The second chapter will be a literature review. The analysis of the awakening of the heroines consists of the third chapter. Then the forth chapter explains how female consciousness was shaped. Naturally, this thesis ends with a conclusion.