An Interpretation Of The Images Of Women In The Waste Land From The Perspective Of Feminism

Thomas Stearns Eliot is one of the giants of modern literature,exerting a prolonged influence upon his own generation and the following ones.In 1948,Eliot received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lifetime of poetic innovation and vast influence in literature.Published in1922,The Waste Land is considered as a milestone of modern poetry.Through interwoven allusions to myths,documents,literary classics,and other works,Eliot depicts a picture of the collapse of modern civilization.One of the major subjects of this poem is the relationship between man and woman,the imbalance of which is reflected by the sexual violence permeates through the whole poem.There are many female figures in The Waste Land,occupying half the poem.Therefore,it is particularly important to focus on women in The Waste Land.The adoption of feminist perspective deepens the understanding of women’s situation in poetry,which is of great significance to interpret this poem.This thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter is introduction,including a brief introduction to Eliot and The Waste Land,the significance of this thesis and literature review.The second chapter introduces feminist literary criticism.The third chapter is the analysis of images of women in The Waste Land from the feminist perspective.Through interpretation under the guidance of feminist criticism,this thesis discovers that women in the poem can be divided into three types: woman as a victim of male’s power,woman as man’s a sex object and woman under male gaze.The fourth chapter explores the ways out of the waste land,which is refusing to be objectified and pursuing gender harmony.The fifth chapter makes a conclusion of this thesis and sketches the contemporary enlightenment from studying the images of women in The Waste Land.