perspective of feminism。论文网

There are a large number of outstanding scholars who have made studies on Vanity。 Both Chinese and foreign scholars are interested in the analysis of two main female characters, Amelia and Rebecca。 Lisa Jadwin(1992) made a study of female duplicity in Vanity Fair and found that women’s lies were regarded forgivable as same as men’s unchastities in Vanity Fair。 Harry Blamires(1984) claimed that Rebecca was a gifted calculating minx, who used her wit and sexuality to “hunt” a rich husband and tuck into the upper class society。 While Amelia was a kind but stubborn girl who wasted her youth on George Osborne who didn’t love her deeply。 Li Min(2011) said in her paper that Vanity Fair explored the money-oriented Victorian patriarchal system and the status-conscious world in which women were deprived of power。 Rebecca was a women who understood rules that govern the female gender and chose to mange her own life which means she wanted to change her destiny instead of living in the bottom of society。 So she tried hard to make friends with the rich people and finally married Rawdon Crawley, a young man with fame and fortune。 On the contrary, Amelia was a woman who was a typical Victorian “angel in the house”。 She loved George Osborne so deeply that even her family was ruined by George Osborne’s father, she still tried hard to marry him。 So she devoted herself to be the ideal wife and mother。 Even George Osborne died in the war, she was willing to take care of their son by herself and rejected the love of Captain Dobbin。 Gao Liping(2002) made a comparison between Amelia and Rebecca from their different attitudes towards money and love。 It was their family decided their different attitudes towards money。 Amelia was born in a wealthy family。 She was gentle, innocent and educated, so she would never yielded to money。 However, Rebecca’s family was in the bottom of society, her tough life made her long for the fame and fortune。 So the only job for her was to have dealings with rich people and live in the upper class。 As to love, Amelia gave herself to George Osborne even though he couldn’t be the ideal husband。 But Rebecca wanted to hunt a husband who can help her to tuck into the upper class。 So it didn’t matter whether her husband loved her or not, all she wanted is that her husband can help her get fame and fortune。 Gao liping thought both Amelia and Rebecca were pathetic: Amelia sacrificed so much but her husband couldn’t give her a happy life, Rebecca tried to get rid of the male-dominated society and get fame and fortune by herself but she had to use wealthy men to help her。

Besides, some researchers focused their studies on the reasons why these two female characters were totally different。 Shu Jing(2014) focused her study on women’s images in Vanity Fair, and she claimed that through analyzing the minor status and role of women in the patriarchy society, the feminism represented by Rebecca who tied every means to change her tough life and the Victorian “angel in the house” represented by Amelia devoted herself to her husband and family。 Their tragic ending was caused by the male-dominated and money-oriented society atmosphere。 Yang Jiang (2004) claimed that in 19th century England, the industry developed rapidly, and the rich got richer, the poor got poorer。 So poor people live in the lowest status in the society and were looked down upon by the rich people。 Besides, women’s statuses were much lower than men, they had no rights to live as equal as men。 So,she claimed that the two women characters in Vanity Fair were

both the products of that society。 Du Yanping (2015) said that it was because Rebecca lost her mother when she was only a child that made her became such a selfish women and even an irresponsible mother。 Her father was an unknown painter, so she had to make contact with all kinds of people so that she learned the skill of flattering。 Du Yanping concluded that the absence of Rebecca’s mother, social environment and her personality caused Rebecca to show the lack of maternal love to her own child, and finally caused her tragedy。 Jiang Haiqing(1989) said that Vanity Fair vividly described a male-dominated and money-oriented society。 Rebecca was selfish and cunning, which showed that she was capable of adventure and speculative spirits。 Her cleverness and attractive appearance helped her live in the upper class temporarily, but she sacrificed her conscience, morality and dignity。 So the image of Rebecca typically summarized the nature of the Capitalist society that people chased for fame and fortune at any costs。文献综述