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【摘要】凱特·肖邦是美国“女性文学”的第一代作家,她在19世纪末的美国社会具有重要的地位,也被现代的文学批评家们称为美国“现实主义作家的先锋者”。凯特·肖邦生活在父权专制的社会,女人一生都局限在家庭中,她们应当扮演的角色是贤妻或者良母。《一双丝袜》里的桑莫斯太太,在觉醒以前,和同时代的妇女一样,只为自己作为妻子和母亲这一身份而存在,却忘记自己作为一个自然人,也需要自然成长和自由生活。但是,由于渐渐受到外界或内心冲动的刺激,女主人公做出了一些有违常规的行为,以表达自己为自己而存在的愿望!凯特·肖邦认为,女性作为母亲和妻子,虽有着家庭责任,但作为个体在社会中,更有着自我价值。凯特肖邦呼吁女性个性解放。
【关键词】觉醒 女性意识 自我实现
I. Introduction
Until today, issues like women’s status in society and family and how they could achieve their identity, are still the focus of society in the 21st century. “As early as in 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft completed the first feminist theoretical work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in the history, which was a very important step in the history of feminism”.With the development of feminism, women gradually realize that they should have the equal rights to men’s and this later becomes a focus of debate in the feminist movement. All these have a great influence on the later feminists’ thinking.
In the 19th century, women’s rights movement in America was surging forward vigorously. As a result, feminist theory including general theories about the origins of inequality and the social construction of sex and gender emerged from these feminist movements. Feminism is mainly focused on women’s issues, and seeks for gender equality. “Many passionate feminists held the view that women should be endowed with the same rights that men own. Women were as equal as man, and they could obtain social, political, and economic rights”. Some female writers, such as Margaret Fuller, Susan B Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, even appealed in their works and speeches to women to strive for their independence. Women should break away from the traditional images of a good wife and loving mother in the patriarchal society.
Born in 1851, Kate Chopin was an unconventional and famous female writer in the United States. She played “a very important role in American feminist literature and made a great contribution to American literature”. Growing in a Louisiana family, Kate Chopin’s life experience had a great impact on her literary works. The “inconsistency between training and experience contributed to the irony of her own happy marriage with the creation of her feminist female characters who felt trapped in their marriages”. The inconsistencies in her life made her become independent through her writing, and even exhibit some unconventional behaviors. Kate Chopin was bold enough to take on writing these subjects, such as women’s lives within the boundaries of the patriarchy, women’s continual struggles for their own identity and the awakening of their awareness. Various kinds of life styles throughout her whole life brought Kate Chopin much material for her future writing. Kate Chopin is now considered to be a forerunner of feminist authors of the twentieth century, and her feminist views are embodied in her descriptions of female characters in her short stories. By reading and analyzing Kate Chopin’s short stories, readers will come to see how women at that time fight for their own life under the background of the patriarchy. In A Pair of Silk Stockings, Mrs. Sommers experiences the awakening of their female consciousness. In the end, she gives their desires up. The outcome reveals the reality of society at that time.
Ⅱ. A Pair of Silk Stockings—self-seeking and family responsibilities
Published in 1896, A Pair of Silk Stockings is one of Kate Chopin’s excellent short stories. The author’s narrative skill is natural and plain. The descriptions of Mrs.Sommers’ temporary shopping experience show her conflict between the family responsibility and self-seeking as a good wife and loving mother. This conflict reflects women’s wish to live for themselves.
A. Mrs. Sommers’ awakening
Fifteen dollars means a large amount of money for Mrs. Sommers, and she is totally absorbed in the proper use of the money. She has never thought of herself, on the contrary, she plans to buy clothes, caps and stockings for her children and dress them clear and tidy. During the period of her shopping, she is attracted by a pair of silk stockings. This pair of silk stockings breaks the original plan and also causes Mrs. Sommers’ awakening.
1. Mrs. Sommers’ life before awakening
Mrs. Sommers is a virtuous wife and good loving mother. “The unexpected possession of fifteen dollars” made her live in “a dreaming state” for a few days. She wants to think up a perfect plan for the use of the fifteen dollars. She is going to spend all the money on children. Fifteen dollars gives Mrs. Sommers “a feeling of importance such as she had not enjoyed for years”. Mrs. Sommers feels unimportant for several years. “Mrs. Sommers was one who knew the value of bargains; who could stand for hours making her way inch toward the desired object that was selling below cost”. Living in a poor family, Mrs. Sommers has to be a thrifty person. In order to buy goods of high quality and at low price, she could wait for a long time without any complaints. As a married woman, her name is unknown in the whole story, and people just call her Mrs. Sommers. Her identity is not herself, but a wife or a mother. She is physically occupied by the family responsibilities, and she exists for her husband and children. 2. Mrs. Sommers’ individual pursuit of her own life
Mrs. Sommers is for “the shopping bout” on that day after getting the children fed and the kitchen righted. When she comes into a store, she chooses a place to sit down. “By degrees she grew aware that her hand had encountered something very smoothing, very pleasant to touch. She looked down to see that her hand lay upon a pile of silk stockings”. She is deeply attracted by this pair of silk stockings, so she decides to purchase it. According to the original plan, she should spend the money on children. But now, she can not control herself. Mrs. Sommers forgets the fact that she is a wife and mother. She is greatly affected by her natural desire, which makes her abandon her old self. At that moment, she is just a woman who loves beauty, and wants to pursue her own way of life without any family responsibility. Satisfaction comes after the motive of her action. Mrs. Sommers’ individual pursuit is beyond the family responsibility, gradually she realizes her beauty—her foot and ankle looked very pretty. “She could not realize that they belonged to her and were a part of herself”. And finally she buys a lot of goods to satisfy her material needs.
B. Mrs. Sommers’ choice
Mrs. Sommers’ choice, to some extent, reflects the process of her awakening of consciousness. Although Mrs. Sommers’s shopping only lasts for a short time, it is enough to see her desire for individual emancipation. Mrs. Sommers decides to be a woman living for herself. Mrs. Sommers’ decision to free herself of family responsibility indicates that she, as an individual in society, has rights to satisfy her individual needs.
When Mrs. Sommers gets fifteen dollars, she first think of her children. Mrs. Sommers racks her brains to think about the question of what the children need and how to spend the money in a reasonable way. As a loving mother, it is natural to Mrs. Sommers to put children’s needs first. She is always considerate to the family, and intends to pay for the children. In fact, when Mrs. Sommers goes shopping, she is unconsciously attracted by “something very soothing”. She is affected by her natural desire at that moment, so that she totally forgets her shopping plan for the children. “Some mechanical impulse” guides her, so she takes this pair of silk stockings without hesitation. A pair of silk stockings is in the wake of Mrs. Sommers’ desire, and she starts to think about herself. And then she buys the boots matching this pair of black stockings, a pair of new and well gloves as well as two high-price magazines. All these goods have brought her “a feeling of assurance, a sense of belonging to the well-dressed multitude”. After a while, she feels hungry and walks into the restaurant that she has never been inside. Sitting in the comfortable chair, she reads the magazines, tastes the delicious food, and even tips the waiter. In the end, she enters the theatre and appreciates a wonderful performance. She is totally absorbed in her own world, regardless of her responsibility for children and family. These actions completely reflect Mrs. Sommers’ wish to self-seek. Mrs. Sommers goes on the cable car with the hope that the car would never stop forever, which reveals that Mrs. Sommers’ desire to continue to be in her dream life, and she does not want to come back to the reality at all. Ⅲ. Conclusion
Kate Chopin portrays the awakening of female consciousness, which shows her hope for women’s liberation. Through her writing, she is able to give a voice to women that feel trapped in their marriages. Female characters’ fates after the awakening in Kate Chopin’s short stories demonstrate some problems and social reality in Kate Chopin’s age. No matter what female characters’ fate are in Kate Chopin’s short stories, the writer herself and her female characters’ courage and determination deserve our respect. The descriptions of the awakening of female consciousness in her short stories have not only laid a foundation for the publishing of Kate Chopin’s literary masterpiece The Awakening in 1899, but also paved the way for the development of women’s movement.
References:
[1]Skaggs,Peggy.Kate Chopin.Boston:Twayne Publishers,1985.
[2]Solomon,Barbara H,ed.The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin.New York:New American Library,1976.
[3]闞鸿鹰.《觉醒》:女性性意识觉醒的先声[J].西南民族大学学报,2005,(9).
[4]约瑟芬·多诺万.赵育春译.女权主义的知识分子传统[M].南京:江苏人民出版社,2002.
作者简介:刘好(1988-),女,侗族,贵州铜仁人,铜仁职业技术学院助教,研究方向:外国语言文学。
【关键词】觉醒 女性意识 自我实现
I. Introduction
Until today, issues like women’s status in society and family and how they could achieve their identity, are still the focus of society in the 21st century. “As early as in 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft completed the first feminist theoretical work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in the history, which was a very important step in the history of feminism”.With the development of feminism, women gradually realize that they should have the equal rights to men’s and this later becomes a focus of debate in the feminist movement. All these have a great influence on the later feminists’ thinking.
In the 19th century, women’s rights movement in America was surging forward vigorously. As a result, feminist theory including general theories about the origins of inequality and the social construction of sex and gender emerged from these feminist movements. Feminism is mainly focused on women’s issues, and seeks for gender equality. “Many passionate feminists held the view that women should be endowed with the same rights that men own. Women were as equal as man, and they could obtain social, political, and economic rights”. Some female writers, such as Margaret Fuller, Susan B Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, even appealed in their works and speeches to women to strive for their independence. Women should break away from the traditional images of a good wife and loving mother in the patriarchal society.
Born in 1851, Kate Chopin was an unconventional and famous female writer in the United States. She played “a very important role in American feminist literature and made a great contribution to American literature”. Growing in a Louisiana family, Kate Chopin’s life experience had a great impact on her literary works. The “inconsistency between training and experience contributed to the irony of her own happy marriage with the creation of her feminist female characters who felt trapped in their marriages”. The inconsistencies in her life made her become independent through her writing, and even exhibit some unconventional behaviors. Kate Chopin was bold enough to take on writing these subjects, such as women’s lives within the boundaries of the patriarchy, women’s continual struggles for their own identity and the awakening of their awareness. Various kinds of life styles throughout her whole life brought Kate Chopin much material for her future writing. Kate Chopin is now considered to be a forerunner of feminist authors of the twentieth century, and her feminist views are embodied in her descriptions of female characters in her short stories. By reading and analyzing Kate Chopin’s short stories, readers will come to see how women at that time fight for their own life under the background of the patriarchy. In A Pair of Silk Stockings, Mrs. Sommers experiences the awakening of their female consciousness. In the end, she gives their desires up. The outcome reveals the reality of society at that time.
Ⅱ. A Pair of Silk Stockings—self-seeking and family responsibilities
Published in 1896, A Pair of Silk Stockings is one of Kate Chopin’s excellent short stories. The author’s narrative skill is natural and plain. The descriptions of Mrs.Sommers’ temporary shopping experience show her conflict between the family responsibility and self-seeking as a good wife and loving mother. This conflict reflects women’s wish to live for themselves.
A. Mrs. Sommers’ awakening
Fifteen dollars means a large amount of money for Mrs. Sommers, and she is totally absorbed in the proper use of the money. She has never thought of herself, on the contrary, she plans to buy clothes, caps and stockings for her children and dress them clear and tidy. During the period of her shopping, she is attracted by a pair of silk stockings. This pair of silk stockings breaks the original plan and also causes Mrs. Sommers’ awakening.
1. Mrs. Sommers’ life before awakening
Mrs. Sommers is a virtuous wife and good loving mother. “The unexpected possession of fifteen dollars” made her live in “a dreaming state” for a few days. She wants to think up a perfect plan for the use of the fifteen dollars. She is going to spend all the money on children. Fifteen dollars gives Mrs. Sommers “a feeling of importance such as she had not enjoyed for years”. Mrs. Sommers feels unimportant for several years. “Mrs. Sommers was one who knew the value of bargains; who could stand for hours making her way inch toward the desired object that was selling below cost”. Living in a poor family, Mrs. Sommers has to be a thrifty person. In order to buy goods of high quality and at low price, she could wait for a long time without any complaints. As a married woman, her name is unknown in the whole story, and people just call her Mrs. Sommers. Her identity is not herself, but a wife or a mother. She is physically occupied by the family responsibilities, and she exists for her husband and children. 2. Mrs. Sommers’ individual pursuit of her own life
Mrs. Sommers is for “the shopping bout” on that day after getting the children fed and the kitchen righted. When she comes into a store, she chooses a place to sit down. “By degrees she grew aware that her hand had encountered something very smoothing, very pleasant to touch. She looked down to see that her hand lay upon a pile of silk stockings”. She is deeply attracted by this pair of silk stockings, so she decides to purchase it. According to the original plan, she should spend the money on children. But now, she can not control herself. Mrs. Sommers forgets the fact that she is a wife and mother. She is greatly affected by her natural desire, which makes her abandon her old self. At that moment, she is just a woman who loves beauty, and wants to pursue her own way of life without any family responsibility. Satisfaction comes after the motive of her action. Mrs. Sommers’ individual pursuit is beyond the family responsibility, gradually she realizes her beauty—her foot and ankle looked very pretty. “She could not realize that they belonged to her and were a part of herself”. And finally she buys a lot of goods to satisfy her material needs.
B. Mrs. Sommers’ choice
Mrs. Sommers’ choice, to some extent, reflects the process of her awakening of consciousness. Although Mrs. Sommers’s shopping only lasts for a short time, it is enough to see her desire for individual emancipation. Mrs. Sommers decides to be a woman living for herself. Mrs. Sommers’ decision to free herself of family responsibility indicates that she, as an individual in society, has rights to satisfy her individual needs.
When Mrs. Sommers gets fifteen dollars, she first think of her children. Mrs. Sommers racks her brains to think about the question of what the children need and how to spend the money in a reasonable way. As a loving mother, it is natural to Mrs. Sommers to put children’s needs first. She is always considerate to the family, and intends to pay for the children. In fact, when Mrs. Sommers goes shopping, she is unconsciously attracted by “something very soothing”. She is affected by her natural desire at that moment, so that she totally forgets her shopping plan for the children. “Some mechanical impulse” guides her, so she takes this pair of silk stockings without hesitation. A pair of silk stockings is in the wake of Mrs. Sommers’ desire, and she starts to think about herself. And then she buys the boots matching this pair of black stockings, a pair of new and well gloves as well as two high-price magazines. All these goods have brought her “a feeling of assurance, a sense of belonging to the well-dressed multitude”. After a while, she feels hungry and walks into the restaurant that she has never been inside. Sitting in the comfortable chair, she reads the magazines, tastes the delicious food, and even tips the waiter. In the end, she enters the theatre and appreciates a wonderful performance. She is totally absorbed in her own world, regardless of her responsibility for children and family. These actions completely reflect Mrs. Sommers’ wish to self-seek. Mrs. Sommers goes on the cable car with the hope that the car would never stop forever, which reveals that Mrs. Sommers’ desire to continue to be in her dream life, and she does not want to come back to the reality at all. Ⅲ. Conclusion
Kate Chopin portrays the awakening of female consciousness, which shows her hope for women’s liberation. Through her writing, she is able to give a voice to women that feel trapped in their marriages. Female characters’ fates after the awakening in Kate Chopin’s short stories demonstrate some problems and social reality in Kate Chopin’s age. No matter what female characters’ fate are in Kate Chopin’s short stories, the writer herself and her female characters’ courage and determination deserve our respect. The descriptions of the awakening of female consciousness in her short stories have not only laid a foundation for the publishing of Kate Chopin’s literary masterpiece The Awakening in 1899, but also paved the way for the development of women’s movement.
References:
[1]Skaggs,Peggy.Kate Chopin.Boston:Twayne Publishers,1985.
[2]Solomon,Barbara H,ed.The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin.New York:New American Library,1976.
[3]闞鸿鹰.《觉醒》:女性性意识觉醒的先声[J].西南民族大学学报,2005,(9).
[4]约瑟芬·多诺万.赵育春译.女权主义的知识分子传统[M].南京:江苏人民出版社,2002.
作者简介:刘好(1988-),女,侗族,贵州铜仁人,铜仁职业技术学院助教,研究方向:外国语言文学。