The Way To Paradise:on Magaret Drabble's A Summer Bird-Cage

Margaret Drabble has already made a name for herself in contemporary literary world. With lots of works and various awards to her credit, Margaret Drabble has established herself as a successful novelist, biographer, critic and an editor as well. Critics have paid much attention to her works since 1960s when Drabble began to write.In her novels, Drabble unfolds a vivid picture of modern British society and concerns many hot social issues, especially women's situation. Because of the realistic tradition of the 19th century in her novels, Margaret Drabble is considered to be Jane Austen modernized and "Chronicler of Britain". Besides her commitment to social realism, she shares the belief of F. R. Leavis that great literature has moral meaning and that the duty of a literary critic is to value the author's moral position. Besides the title, a moralist, Margaret Drabble is also regarded as a humanist and a woman's writer. In addition, she has also used some modern techniques to describe the complicated fragmented social reality. The opinions about her writings have varied a lot.The theme of finding a way out runs through nearly all of her novels. Based on her own experience, Margaret Drabble depicts the middle class intelligent young woman entering a new world, marriage or career in her early novels. They want to find out a right way leading to a completed life in the future. As the novels develop from the domestic period to the more public one, the heroines try to find out a way in a more complicated situation to achieve the identity, future, and the like.A Summer Bird-Cage, her first novel published in 1963, gives prominence to the theme of finding a way out. Drabble deliberately provides Sarah Bennett,the heroine with the possibility of choices. And the other women characters act as a foil to the heroine and represent the variety of choice. Each woman around gives her an example about different choices, especially Louise, her elder sister. However, it seems that they are not on the way to paradise, whatever they choose.In the novel, Drabble has used a lot of symbols. It is believed that the symbols not only make the writing concise and comprehensive, but also provide the reader with sensory details that inspire the imagination of the features of characters and things. However, that is the superficial meaning. Although critics have paid much attention to the symbols and praised that Margaret Drabble reveals herself as a fledgling symbolist in her very first novel, the deeper meaning or the real purpose of the author has never been dug out.By using the natural details to represent characters, Drabble actually adopts a whole natural world to indicate the human society. According to Darwinism, those who are most adapted to the environment and the development of nature, can get enough nutrition to support their lives. The rest will be eliminated by the nature. Natural selection and the survival of the fittest will go through the whole natural evolution. On the other hand, social culture including values, norms and belief, the rules defining the individuals' behavior in human society, represent the will of the dominating class, in spite of the fact that the rules have already been accepted and taken for granted by the members. They vary from one society to another. The social culture is learned unconsciously, as if it sprang from human original nature. In a man's society, in order to keep "the state of grace" or to expect the praise and admiration of the public, women tend to be more and more what men hope them to be. The fate of a woman is determined.The effect of social rules on women is artificial and unfair by all means. The natural emblems build up the comparison between nature and society. It is found out that the distinction between the natural rules and the social ones makeswomen unable to find out a real way to paradise. Unless the equal objective social rules are constituted, women will never escape from the trap made by men. This is the real purpose or the deeper meaning of Margaret Drabble's symbolism in the novel. Sarah's problem, as that of all the women, is solved at last.Chapter I focuses on the situation of facing choice and the variety of choices provided by the other women. Sarah is going to make her eternal choice in her life to find a way out. She has enough time to think it over, since Francis is studying abroad. But she is confused that none of the choices provided by the other women characters seems preferable. Sarah wants to find a real way out to enjoy the whole harvest of the life. Drabble uses lots of natural details to symbolize women. Her purpose is to introduce the natural world, to set up the comparison between the two, and then, to imply women's real way out.Chapter II tries to demonstrate it is a specious way that women use the social rules to guide the future. Natural selection, the way to determine the evolutional direction of the species in nature makes the species stronger and more competent. The way leads to excellence in nature. The social culture defining individuals' behavior makes women weaker and more submissive, just as what men demand them to be. The social way brings women to doom.Chapter III illuminates the real way to paradise. The essential distinction of the two rules causes the different results in nature and society. Natural selection, which runs through nature, is unchangeable and objective, while the order inside the society as the representation of the ruling class's will varies from one society to another. Further, the only way out for women is to recreate the social values. In a man's society, women define their behavior with the criteria made by men. Without the equal and objective rules, a woman is about to doom whatever she chooses. The problem raised by Sarah representing all of the women is solved.In short, A Summer Bird-Cage is a novel aiming to find a way out. In orderto find out the root of the inequality of social rules, the author brings the natural world into the novel by symbols. The rules defining individuals' behavior cause totally different results in nature and society. After realizing the essential distinction between nature and social rules, we find out that the only way out is to tear down the social values made by man and recreate an equal objective ones.It deserves great attention that Drabble resolves the problem raised by the heroine through the means of symbolism. It is the brave experiment. A Summer Bird Cages, though first, is one of Drabble 's masterpieces. Drabble has denied that she is a feminist, but she actually points out the way to paradise for women.