A Comparative Study Of The Heroines’ Ethical Selections In The Bridges Of Madison County And Brocade Valley

The Bridges of Madison County and Brocade Valley,written by American writer Robert James Waller and Chinese writer Wang Anyi respectively,have been brought into focus due to their sensitive theme of extramarital affair.The former describes a melancholic romance between the farmer’s wife Francisca and the photographer Kincaid;the latter is about the Platonic love between a female editor and a male writer.Domestic and foreign scholars have interpreted these two works from the perspectives of feminism,psychoanalysis and narrative techniques,but few comparative studies between them have been conducted and few ethics can be read.Although both heroines eventually choose to return to family,they mostly differ in ethical identity,escapade and the motivation of returning.Under the theoretical foundation of ethical literary criticism and the method of close reading,this thesis firstly conducts a comparative analysis on two heroines’ ethical selections from ethical environment as well as the process and motivations of selection,and then analyzes the ethical enlightenment implied in their ethical selections.This thesis intends to indicate that The Bridges of Madison County is inevitably involved in patriarchal ideas,while Brocade Valley demonstrates a distinct female consciousness.However,two writers transcend narrow binary opposition of gender,invariably express solicitude for marital predicament of modern women,promote gender harmony,and emphasize the value of ethical consciousness in maintaining the stability of marriage.This thesis can not only provide readers with a comprehensive study on these two works,but also offer a practical application of ethical literary criticism on interpreting literary works.