From Bertha Mason To Adela Quest Tydfil

Authors created a large number of memorable images of women in Englishliterature.With the continuous improvement of women’s status,the female image has happeneda great change in the literature, and "mad woman" that is a particular literary phenomenonalso enriched the English literature female images gallery. In literary works, people notice alot of women is crazy. these female images because of race, the patriarchal repression andcultural hegemony become a writer’s madness, why this kind of phenomenon canappear?More and more research on mad woman’s image occurs in recent years. Spivak’s threewomen’s text and a criticism of imperialism(1986) article on" the mad woman Mason andAntoinette "make people have a new understing to the tragedy root of "crazy woman" image.In this paper,writer interpret "crazy woman" image of the similar to Mason from thepost-colonial perspective. The author hope that through their unusual experience analysisthe reasons of the madness and their later impact, and reveal the unique artistic charm of "madwoman".This article adopts the method of test reading,and selected Charlotte Bronte’s BerthaMason, Jane Rhys’s Antoinette and E.M. Foster’s Adela that is the three "mad woman" to theunderstanding of the postcolonial perspective in order to have a new understanding to them.This article is divided into four chapters, the introduction introduces the backgroundknowledge about "mad woman", the research present situation, the author’s creation intentionand the perspective of post-colonial to interpret "mad woman" image. The first chapterintroduces "the other"and "subordinate" theory in the post-colonial theory. The secondchapter presents "crazy woman" imagein English classic literature, and analysis the causes oftheir madness and influence, and emphasis on modern civilization to the persecution ofwomen. In the chapter iii, the author selected three "mad woman" image for "other" identityinterpretation with Said’s post-colonial theory.The fourth chapter use Spivak’s famous thesis"Can the subaltern Speak?" to interpret the mad woman’s image for the further subalterndiscussion. In the patriarchal society and the oppression of racism, as a member of thesubordinate class, she Bertha was a forever silent partner; Antoinette, trying to get rid of theirsubordinate statusin cultural hegemony, triple oppression of patriarchy and racial conflict, wasdifferent from Bertha’s silence.she can speak, but as a subordinate she eventually speakswhat had happened to her; Adela, with the double identity of colonialism and oppression ofpatriarchy, she tried to get rid of this identity. In the face of colonial hegemony culture andhumanism culture, although her inner contradictions caused her mental disorders, she relysher own awakening on the path of the revolt.This thesis conducts post-colonial perspective interpretation to the "mad woman"imageand criticizes the western cultural hegemony and patriarchal persecution against women.Literature is a reflection of reality, reality influenced the writers literary creation. ColonialBritish search the rational basis of colonial expansion for himself, and needs from the other Finding themselves to show the advantages of their own irreplaceable imperialmythology. From Bertha mason, Antoinette to adela, these "crazy woman" in the literaryworks let people more profound understanding to colonial hegemony imposing on the east.Atthe same time, it shows these crazy woman’s resistance to the western cultural hegemony andthe patriarchal society. The postcolonial perspective through interpretation of the image ofthe mad woman has made a unique contribution to human civilization, history,reality forpeople,and provides some enlightenment to the construction of a harmonious society.