A Study Of Snow White From The Perspective Of Post-modern Feminism

Donald Barthelme is acclaimed as “father of post-modern fiction”.His novel—Snow White,as the most celebrated work,is actually a magnificent post-modern adaptation of the Brother Grimm's classic fairy tale—Snow White.Barthelme is considerable as a prominent writer in field of the post-modern literature for his Snow White.So far,many critics have commented on Snow White from such perspectives as post-modern writing techniques,post-modern thoughts and feminism which has provided a good foundation for the present research on it.This dissertation attempts to make an intensive study of the heroine—Snow White with the combination of the post-modern feminist theory and the detailed reading of the novel.In addition,because the novel is non-linear narrative,this dissertation collects the specific examples of fragments in the novel and then analyzes them one by one with the relevant theory.From the perspective of post-modern feminism which is based on the Foucault's theories,this dissertation analyzes “the other” image of Snow White,and then explores the process of her self-emancipation.Moreover,it discusses the reason for her failure and points out the enlightenment of her struggle.Through the research,some findings have been attained: Firstly,Snow White's “otherness” results from the interplay between power,body and discourse in the patriarchal system;Secondly,through freeing her body and discourse,Snow White gets rid of “the other” identity and constructs her subjectivity to a certain degree;Thirdly,influenced by the author's male gender quality and the contemporary social power relations of creating background,Snow White has built up a fake subjectivity which is merely a replica of the patriarchal system.In other words,the liberation of Snow White is a limited one;Lastly,the failure of Snow White's struggle enlightens that the only way to achieve female liberation in the true sense is to respect others' wills and establish the cooperation between men and women on the basis of “respecting gender differences”.