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Female Characters in Oscar Wilde’s Social Comedies

Author: WangJia
Tutor: PuDuRong
School: Chongqing University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: Oscar Wilde social comedies patriarchy female characters feminist criticism
CLC:
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2009
Downloads: 360
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Abstract

Oscar Wilde, one of the most remarkable and controversial writers, contributed a lot to English literature or, indeed, the literature of the world. His social comedies: The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere’s Fan and A Woman of no Importance have always won the favor of people; however, they have not been given enough attention both home and abroad. Feminist criticism is employed in this thesis to analyze a series of women characters in these social comedies and explore their fates.This thesis is composed of five chapters. In the first chapter, Wilde’s social comedies and the research on these works are introduced and the main research method employed in this thesis—feminist criticism, based on Woolf’s and Showalter’s ideas, is brought forward. In the second chapter, the characters of girls in love are analyzed. Gwendolen is of courage and wisdom, nevertheless marriage is quite beyond her control; Cecily takes control of her love in her diary, nevertheless she is feeble in reality; Lady Agatha who behaves like an aphasia doll abandons the right to choose. These girls have to obey their parents’and guardians’will when it comes to love and marriage. In the third chapter, the characters of young wives in marriage are analyzed. Lady Windermere once demanded mutual fidelity, but she has to ignore her husband’s betrayal; Lady Chiltern once pursued an unblemished husband, but she prefers to forgive his ignominious past. Young wives who once stuck to their principles on marriage give them up so as to maintain their family. In the fourth chapter, the characters of middle-aged ladies in society are analyzed. Mrs. Erlynne is intelligent and capable, but she will never gain a comfortable life without men’s support. Mrs. Cheveley has excellent political ability; however, she has to ask for Chiltern’s support to make profits. Mrs. Arbuthnot does not yield to wealth before her former lover, but she gives herself up to the monetary lure of another. Although they are intelligent and capable, they will surrender themselves to wealth and reality eventually. In the fifth chapter, it is concluded that most female characters in Wilde’s social comedies begin to have some female consciousness. However, infirm or courageous, poor or rich, sophisticated or innocent, they all become victims of the patriarchy. Therefore, these social comedies are the tragedies of women.

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