Sex Culture Explanation On Feminine Images In Tolstoy's Works

Women images in the works of Tolstoy are numerous with different characteristics. In the past analysis of Natasha, Anna, Maslowa, three women's images in the works of Tolstoy, some problems exist in various degrees. In addition, there is still a question that Tolstoy is a writer with comparatively conservative view of woman. So, in this paper, with regard to the feminism theory and other gender sociology, on the basis of understanding texts in detail, women's image criticism will be used to analyze the above three images with new understandings. In this way, deep reasons will be found for these images developments and for Tolstoy's thought changing course.Four chapters are in this paper.The first chapter is Natasha, the Female Eunuch. The heroine Natasha in War and peace written in the 1860's was a good wife and mother. She dedicated unselfish offer voluntarily, with fond of responsibility which bore children and helping her husband. Meanwhile, with pretty looks, as one gentle and dazzling obeying woman image in patriarchal society at the time, she was highly praised. While, through analysis in this paper, it can be easily found that she was only a puppet with no soul at all, although she admitted patriarchal governance order and patriarchal idea system. She was a sacrificial image which lost her own individual character and devoted totally everything to the patriarchal social culture. She was only an artificial body placed on the human one, castrated recklessly on spirit by patriarchal society and culture.Chapter two is Anna, rebellion against the Other's position. The heroine Anna in Anna Karenina, created in the seventies of the 19th century, depended on men not only in economy, but also in culture. She regarded herself as "the Other", choosing and taking action in such a manner which deceived her to take advantage of herself. However, she was unhappy with undisputed anxiety. In the bad environment, she was forced to choose for a second time. And finally, in the fierce struggle of different roles of wife, of mother and of lover, she made committed suicide. In a word, Anna was a woman's image who compromised to the patriarchal society and accepted the patriarchal idea as well as resisted against the patriarchal society and tried hard to get rid of the feminine status of "the Other". In her body there was a tendency of compromise as well as resistance against the patriarchal society and culture. These two aspects mixed and struggled with each other, and eventually forced her to change to...