To Grow Under The Gaze-A Study On Charlotte Bronte’s Villette

The novel Villette is one of the four works of Charlotte Bronte during her short writing career.Although it is not as popular as Jane Eyre,which is deeply rooted in the hearts of populations,women’s values embodied in this work are more bold and mature.Villette mainly describes Lucy’s evolving from isolation,hopelessness to maturity and ultimately the fulfillment.In the end of this novel,whether Paul survives the storm isn’t revealed and Lucy’s marriage life has become a myth.However,Lucy then has her own career as well as strong will powers.Bronte intends to deliver the message that our body and emotion need companion while our souls are self-reliant and need to be free from shackles.This thesis will examine Lucy’s growth through the gaze theory of Sartre and Foucault,as is reflected through the complex relations among main characters in this novel.The study includes five parts.The first part gives introduction to Charlotte Bronte and Villette,literature review at home and abroad and the significance of the study.Chapter One introduces the development of the gaze theory and its application in this thesis.Chapter Two analyzes the oppression that Lucy went through as a gaze object,including Madame Beck’s surveillance over her,Paul Emanuel’s watch and supervision over her,Dr.John Graham’s gaze on her from a medical perspective and the exclusive gaze of religion on Lucy.Chapter Three analyzes Lucy’s mitigation of the repressive gaze power on her,including Lucy’s gazing back on Madame Beck,Lucy’s candid and direct eye contact with Paul Emanuel,the strategy of avoiding the gaze from Dr.John Graham as well as her one-way gaze at Dr.John and the critical thinking ability to confront assimilative power that penetrated the patriarchal society.Chapter Four explores Lucy,as the gazer,gazing at and examing her own feelings and desire as well as her own mental condition,ultimately realizing her self-help and achieving her self-growth."Gaze" is an important cognitive activity through which we observe,understand,and analyze society.At the same time,we are also constantly under the gaze of others,which are either critical,with good intentions or malicious motives.How to translate the power in others’gazes into positive internal drive is a topic that we cannot circumvent.