论文部分内容阅读
According to the survey investigated by American Population Reference Bureau in 2011， there are 46.3% American women are still in spinsterhood. Similarly， in China， the number of single ladies in Beijing has outnumbered one third of the overall female adults. The views of marriage embodied in the above phenomenon are also reflected in many western and eastern classic literatures. Among them， the heroines in Little Women and Love in a Fallen City are representative. This paper compares the different views of marriage held by Jo and Liusu Bai from two perspectives： the criteria of choosing their life partner and the position they stand in their marriages. Through the comparative analysis of two different views of marriage of Jo and Liusu Bai， the aims of this paper are to enlighten contemporary female to reject the decayed part of traditional concepts of marriage and form a positive view of marriage， which guides them to a happy marriage.
As for different criteria of choosing life partners， Jo’s view is obviously more positive than Liusu Bai’s money worship. For Jo， money is not being considered when choosing her life partner， because she values healthy relationship rather than wealthy material. Her refusal to Laurie shows her unwillingness to marry a man she does not fall in love with， even though that man is rich. In Jo’s inner world， it is her feeling about Laurie not the material condition that drives her to refuse the propose. In the book， Jo states that “we don’t agree， and we never shall； so we’ll be good friends all our lives， but we won’t go and do anything rash” （Alcott 272）. Jo’s reasonable mind and upright view of marriage gives her the chance to pursue the true love. Honestly， this is a precious quality that should be adopted by temporary female， especially those who build their marriages on the basis of material instead of true love. The distorted mentality leads to a twisted criterion of choosing spouse， which originally roots in money worship. Compared with Jo， those who exchange “marriage” with “material life” should conduct introspection and get to know that they would never enjoy themselves in the marriage based on the goal of money. Jo’s successful marriage sets a good example for modern women to follow. A soul mate like Mr. Bhaer who understands her and always supports her career is the ideal partner of Jo. Although Mr. Bhaer is poor and cannot provide her with a wealthy life， his mental support is more valuable than money condition in Jo’s mind. When Mr. Bhaer unfolds his true heart that he has “nothing but much love to give her”， Jo expresses “ how happy she would be to walk through life beside him， even though she had no better shelter than the old umbrella， if he carried it”（Alcott 332）. In one word， in Jo’s view of marriage， material support is not a primary criterion in choosing her husband. What could touch her heart is the healthy relationship， a deeply intangible comfort and the original root drives human beings to get married and to form a family. However， for Liusu Bai， the most primary criterion of choosing her life partner is whether he is rich and reliable. Instead of picking a man who she falls in love with， Liusu Bai would rather choosing a material reliance. On one hand， having an affluent childhood， she cannot be tolerant of the poor living conditions， so she prefers to find a rich man to meet her material needs. Thus， she chooses Liuyuan Fan rather than Mr. Jiang. The main reason for her choice is that Mr. Fan is able to guarantee her economic security. On the other hand， having no job also contributes to her financial dependency on man. Her employment opportunities are often severely restrained by female’s social status at her time （Zhang 51）. In the feudal society， the majority of female would like to obey traditional arranged marriage and follow the so-called fatalism， which advocates the wifely submission and opposes the females’ independence of economy. Naturally， it is impossible for women to find a well-off job. With the feudal concept’s impacts， Liusu Bai also cannot break these restraints. She does not think it is shameful to have no job for women. Even Liusu Bai believes that it is men’s duty to support the family. Thus， she regards man’s ability of making money as the primary standard of choosing her life partner. Meanwhile， another factor of Liusu Bai’s mate selection is that male must be reliable. In the aspect of position women stand for in marriage， Jo’s opinion is more reasonable than that of Liusu Bai. For Jo， she is an independent girl who believes that female deserves the right to be treated as equal as male in marriage. Since she is a teenager， she behaves like a boy， and hates to be a girl who cannot do the same games and works. For some time， she even wants to seize the opportunity to join the army like a boy. In addition， when her father leaves， Jo shares the responsibility with her mother to support her family by writing novels， which sets the foundation of her later views that female and male are supposed to work together to support the family collectively instead of resting all burden on male. When Jo was very young， her father， Mr. March， left home to join the army. Therefore， the pressures of supporting the family all shoulder on Mrs. March. To share the stress for her mother， Jo began to write articles to get payment. This special experience contributes to her boyish character and makes her believe that women could do anything that men could do， thus， female deserve the equal position as male in their marriages. At some deep level of Jo’s mind， she does not “see wife as affiliation to the husband” （Wan 3）. Viewing in the contemporary era， unlike Jo， many women voluntarily choose to be a housewife and give up their occupations. However， in the patriarchal society， these compromises could not win equal positions in family for them. In the language of Yang Li， a psychology tutor at China Women’s University：
Only when modern women face up to themselves and confirmedly believe they deserve an equal position in marriage， can they get the chance to really achieve it. The healthily developing view of marriage is based on mutual respects of each couple. （74）
For Liusu Bai， she holds the prejudice， which is accepted by most people at her time， regards female as the appendage of marriage. As Liusu Bai says， “no matter how outstanding a woman is， she will be nothing if she cannot earn the appreciation and protection of a man” （A Zhang 57）. Here is an illustration： after Liusu Bai gets divorced with her ex-husband， she becomes helpless and aspires to find another man who is willing to commit and take care of her for the rest of her life （A Zhang 51）. Besides， one of the real causes to her second marriage is the fact that only men could give her a comfortable life. In terms of Liusu Bai， Marriage plays a crucial role in her whole life and determines her future. From her perspectives， marriage represents happiness to some extent. Furthermore， according to Ran’s study， “no matter now the female struggles and resists marriage， the ending is the same： either a tragedy， or submission on male’s dependency at last in Zhang Ailing’s view” （156）. Besides， Liusu Bai’s intolerance to the loveless marriage with her ex-husband eventually results in her misery. The second marriage with Liuyuan Fan is also， to some extent， a misery to her， because she always conceives that women are the affiliation of marriage. Therefore， she can never stand on an equal position when she lives with Fan. By the comparative analysis above， it can be concluded that Jo’s view of marriage is more suitable for contemporary women. Thus， Chinese women had better adopt the positive aspects from Jo’s criteria of choosing her life partner， the position she stands in her marriage and her anti-traditional attitude toward marriage. Then， the aim of this paper can be achieved.
References：
[1]Alcott Louisa May. Little Women. Xian： World Books Press， 2005. Print.
[2]Ailing， Zhang. Love in a Fallen City. Harbin Publish Press， 2003. Print.
[3]Yiming， Ran. “Differences and Similarities in Lawrence and Zhang Ailing’s Views on Female.”Campus English.China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.1994-2014.
[4]Li， Zhang.“View on Liusu Bai’s‘Tragedy’.”Chinese Academic Periodical. Nov. 2013： 30-31. Print.
[5]Liyao， Wan.“New Women---Analysis on the Four Little Women.”JIN TIAN. d. Wangfangdate.com.cn.2012（6）.Web.15 Dec 2014.
[6]Brophy， Brigid. Sentimentality and Lousia M. Alcott. New York： Nicholas Brealey Publishing， 2006. Print.
[7]Yang，Li and Bangde Wei.“The Mental Survey of Contemporary Chinese Women.” Journal Teachers College. 26. d. wangfangdate. com. cn. 2009（2）. Web. 15 Dec 2014.
As for different criteria of choosing life partners， Jo’s view is obviously more positive than Liusu Bai’s money worship. For Jo， money is not being considered when choosing her life partner， because she values healthy relationship rather than wealthy material. Her refusal to Laurie shows her unwillingness to marry a man she does not fall in love with， even though that man is rich. In Jo’s inner world， it is her feeling about Laurie not the material condition that drives her to refuse the propose. In the book， Jo states that “we don’t agree， and we never shall； so we’ll be good friends all our lives， but we won’t go and do anything rash” （Alcott 272）. Jo’s reasonable mind and upright view of marriage gives her the chance to pursue the true love. Honestly， this is a precious quality that should be adopted by temporary female， especially those who build their marriages on the basis of material instead of true love. The distorted mentality leads to a twisted criterion of choosing spouse， which originally roots in money worship. Compared with Jo， those who exchange “marriage” with “material life” should conduct introspection and get to know that they would never enjoy themselves in the marriage based on the goal of money. Jo’s successful marriage sets a good example for modern women to follow. A soul mate like Mr. Bhaer who understands her and always supports her career is the ideal partner of Jo. Although Mr. Bhaer is poor and cannot provide her with a wealthy life， his mental support is more valuable than money condition in Jo’s mind. When Mr. Bhaer unfolds his true heart that he has “nothing but much love to give her”， Jo expresses “ how happy she would be to walk through life beside him， even though she had no better shelter than the old umbrella， if he carried it”（Alcott 332）. In one word， in Jo’s view of marriage， material support is not a primary criterion in choosing her husband. What could touch her heart is the healthy relationship， a deeply intangible comfort and the original root drives human beings to get married and to form a family. However， for Liusu Bai， the most primary criterion of choosing her life partner is whether he is rich and reliable. Instead of picking a man who she falls in love with， Liusu Bai would rather choosing a material reliance. On one hand， having an affluent childhood， she cannot be tolerant of the poor living conditions， so she prefers to find a rich man to meet her material needs. Thus， she chooses Liuyuan Fan rather than Mr. Jiang. The main reason for her choice is that Mr. Fan is able to guarantee her economic security. On the other hand， having no job also contributes to her financial dependency on man. Her employment opportunities are often severely restrained by female’s social status at her time （Zhang 51）. In the feudal society， the majority of female would like to obey traditional arranged marriage and follow the so-called fatalism， which advocates the wifely submission and opposes the females’ independence of economy. Naturally， it is impossible for women to find a well-off job. With the feudal concept’s impacts， Liusu Bai also cannot break these restraints. She does not think it is shameful to have no job for women. Even Liusu Bai believes that it is men’s duty to support the family. Thus， she regards man’s ability of making money as the primary standard of choosing her life partner. Meanwhile， another factor of Liusu Bai’s mate selection is that male must be reliable. In the aspect of position women stand for in marriage， Jo’s opinion is more reasonable than that of Liusu Bai. For Jo， she is an independent girl who believes that female deserves the right to be treated as equal as male in marriage. Since she is a teenager， she behaves like a boy， and hates to be a girl who cannot do the same games and works. For some time， she even wants to seize the opportunity to join the army like a boy. In addition， when her father leaves， Jo shares the responsibility with her mother to support her family by writing novels， which sets the foundation of her later views that female and male are supposed to work together to support the family collectively instead of resting all burden on male. When Jo was very young， her father， Mr. March， left home to join the army. Therefore， the pressures of supporting the family all shoulder on Mrs. March. To share the stress for her mother， Jo began to write articles to get payment. This special experience contributes to her boyish character and makes her believe that women could do anything that men could do， thus， female deserve the equal position as male in their marriages. At some deep level of Jo’s mind， she does not “see wife as affiliation to the husband” （Wan 3）. Viewing in the contemporary era， unlike Jo， many women voluntarily choose to be a housewife and give up their occupations. However， in the patriarchal society， these compromises could not win equal positions in family for them. In the language of Yang Li， a psychology tutor at China Women’s University：
Only when modern women face up to themselves and confirmedly believe they deserve an equal position in marriage， can they get the chance to really achieve it. The healthily developing view of marriage is based on mutual respects of each couple. （74）
For Liusu Bai， she holds the prejudice， which is accepted by most people at her time， regards female as the appendage of marriage. As Liusu Bai says， “no matter how outstanding a woman is， she will be nothing if she cannot earn the appreciation and protection of a man” （A Zhang 57）. Here is an illustration： after Liusu Bai gets divorced with her ex-husband， she becomes helpless and aspires to find another man who is willing to commit and take care of her for the rest of her life （A Zhang 51）. Besides， one of the real causes to her second marriage is the fact that only men could give her a comfortable life. In terms of Liusu Bai， Marriage plays a crucial role in her whole life and determines her future. From her perspectives， marriage represents happiness to some extent. Furthermore， according to Ran’s study， “no matter now the female struggles and resists marriage， the ending is the same： either a tragedy， or submission on male’s dependency at last in Zhang Ailing’s view” （156）. Besides， Liusu Bai’s intolerance to the loveless marriage with her ex-husband eventually results in her misery. The second marriage with Liuyuan Fan is also， to some extent， a misery to her， because she always conceives that women are the affiliation of marriage. Therefore， she can never stand on an equal position when she lives with Fan. By the comparative analysis above， it can be concluded that Jo’s view of marriage is more suitable for contemporary women. Thus， Chinese women had better adopt the positive aspects from Jo’s criteria of choosing her life partner， the position she stands in her marriage and her anti-traditional attitude toward marriage. Then， the aim of this paper can be achieved.
References：
[1]Alcott Louisa May. Little Women. Xian： World Books Press， 2005. Print.
[2]Ailing， Zhang. Love in a Fallen City. Harbin Publish Press， 2003. Print.
[3]Yiming， Ran. “Differences and Similarities in Lawrence and Zhang Ailing’s Views on Female.”Campus English.China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.1994-2014.
[4]Li， Zhang.“View on Liusu Bai’s‘Tragedy’.”Chinese Academic Periodical. Nov. 2013： 30-31. Print.
[5]Liyao， Wan.“New Women---Analysis on the Four Little Women.”JIN TIAN. d. Wangfangdate.com.cn.2012（6）.Web.15 Dec 2014.
[6]Brophy， Brigid. Sentimentality and Lousia M. Alcott. New York： Nicholas Brealey Publishing， 2006. Print.
[7]Yang，Li and Bangde Wei.“The Mental Survey of Contemporary Chinese Women.” Journal Teachers College. 26. d. wangfangdate. com. cn. 2009（2）. Web. 15 Dec 2014.