A Comparison Between "Cinderella" In Zhang Ailing And Lady Gaskell’s Novels

Mrs.Gaskell and zhang ai-ling are the most unique female writers in the history of British and Chinese literature,and they have long been controversial in their own literary world.The female image of Cinderella appeared in their works Although their creative activities are not of the same age,they are all concerned with the fate of women。They explore women’s love and marriage in times of dramatic social change.《 South and north 》 and 《 love of the city 》 are their important representatives.Cinderella is a typical story of men to save women.Starting from Cinderella was a feminist point of view of men and women are fictional images.The similarities in characters reflect some of the common features of the two writers in the depths of their thoughts.From the perspective of feminism,this article analyzes the two Cinderellas.At the same time,the similarities and differences between Cinderella and traditional Cinderella in the two works are studied in order to analyze the thinking about the fate of women hidden behind the story of the two writers.This article is divided into three chapters.The first chapter,"Cinderella" is a famous folk story.It is considered a "myth" for men to save women.The study of folk literature has been very rich and in-depth.Using the Altai classification system,an internationally accepted classification of folk stories,the five most important parts of the Cinderella story structure are: Mother’s weakening,women’s contention,miserable life,external help,perfect love ending.Through comparison,it is found that both "《Southern and Northern》" and "《Love of Allure》" satisfy the "Cinderella" story structure.Their "Cinderella" can be divided into these five parts.The implications of these five parts of the structure are including the theme of men saving women.Itshows that although the story of Cinderella spans different regions and history,it still reflects the subject of women subordinate to men.Whether they are Zhang Ailing or Mrs.Gaskell,their Cinderella remains the “Cinderella” that needs to be saved.The second chapter,taking the two typical images of Cinderella and Prince Charming as the core,compares with the traditional image,and points out the transcendence and variation in the images of Cinderella and Prince Charming in the two novels.The "Cinderella" white tassel in《Love of Allure》is a secular Cinderella.When she chooses the prince and marriage,she values the economic strength most.The "Cinderella" Margaret in "《Southern and Northern》" is even more idealistic.She pursues spiritual common love,and her desire for materiality is not strong.The images of Prince Charming in the two novels are also different.Fan Liuyuan is a prince with a wealth of wealth,a lack of brilliance and a strong moral outlook.In contrast,Thornton is a prince who has a strong individual struggle spirit,respects women,and has a relatively complete moral concept.However,Thornton’s birth is not noble,and there is still a gap between the perfect image of the traditional prince and noble birth.The idealization of the image of Cinderella in the novel and the variation of the image of the perfect prince show that the idea of female subordination to men has begun to loosen in both London in the 19 th century and Shanghai in the early 20 th century.Although they are still regulated in the family,But the absolute worship of men no longer exists.the third chapter,bailiusu and Margaret have their own individuality,but due to the limitations of history and the traditional writer’s personal thinking,their breakthrough in the traditional image is compromised and incomplete.They still belong to Cinderella saved by men.All of them have no skills and are affected by the traditional ideas of returning to the family.Therefore,they cannot survive in the society independently.When they find it difficult to survive,they will choose to return to marriage and regard marriage as all the hope of life.They believe that as long as they achieve a victory in marriage,they have achieved a victory in life and are satisfied with the joy that marriage brings to them.As long as the victory of marriageis achieved,it is a victory in life that is satisfied with the joy that marriage brings to oneself.After all,the limitations of history limit their personal independence,and the compromise of their own understanding limits the independence of their thinking.Therefore,whether it is Margaret or bailiusu,the final so-called victory of love indicates that they still put themselves in the inner nature of marriage,and women’s thinking and resistance to completely break free of the status of "the other" is limited.Both female writers took Cinderella’s story to describe women’s marriage and destiny in the era.Their incompleteness of the transcendence of the Cinderella story shows that in the era of drastic changes in the era,women are still unable to escape the fate of male bondage.However,the Cinderella in their works still expresses the charm of women eager for independent personality.This is the deep reflection and sympathy of the two writers on the fate of women.It is also of great significance for women’s real independence.