Gendered Space In Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories

Flannery O'Connor(1925-1964)is regarded as one of the best American novelists in the 20th century.She created a total of 2 novels and 31 short stories in her short life.Living in the age when Feminist movement was in vogue,O'Connor paid attention to the fate of women and created many vivid images of women.As a unique female writer after World War II,her works attract great attention among critics and readers.Thus far,scholars at home and abroad have interpreted O'Connor's works from the perspective of-religion,Southern literature,grotesque and violence.However,few critics have systematically discussed the relationship between space and gender construction in her works.Therefore,taking feminist geography as the theoretical support and combining with the social background,this thesis attempts to interpret the restraint and oppression of male society on women in O'Connor's short stories from the perspective of space and explain how the power relationship between men and women can be expressed and strengthened through space in daily life.The female characters in O'Connor's short stories are restricted by the conventional gender role,and are confined at home and restricted by the family life of serving both the husband and the children.In addition,in O'Connor's short stories.space is not only a means for men to control and manipulate women,but also a possibility for women to subvert male dominance and gain their own sovereignty.While most of the female figures are not aware of the spatial compression and submit to their own living space,there are still some female figures who try to find possible ways to reverse the traditional gender-determined power relationship.Although most of these attempts fail in the end.they still challenge the male authority.