Research On The Depiction Of Female In The Root-seeking Literature

Since the root-seeking literature emerged in the 1980 s,the academic research on the root-seeking literature has been enduring.The mission of the root-seeking literature is to find the cultural root of the Chinese nation and to think about the cultural support of China in the process of modernization.However,if we re-examine the root-seeking literature from the perspective of “Gender and Literature”,we can find that the root-seeking literature which mainly written by male writers is full of patrilineal imagination,and this patrilineal imagination makes women marginalized while establishing the principal status of men.When the writers try to find the cultural root of the Chinese nation,they have not criticized the unequal gender culture which is a bad root.Therefore,it is necessary to study the depiction of female in the root-seeking literature.This paper takes the root-seeking literature published in the 1980 s as the object of study,combining feminist literary criticism and gender culture research as the method of study to explore the female images in the root-seeking literature.This paper intends to analyze female’s living status and explore female’s fate of drifting without roots in the root-seeking literature.This paper reveals how the male root-seeking literature writers expose their male-centered consciousness when they create female images.The research on the depiction of female in root-seeking literature can expose the gender narrative in root-seeking literature.Furthermore,it can add a gender perspective to the study of root-seeking literature.At last,it can explore women’s living status under the influence of different gender cultures as well as the process of modernization,and examine whether the gender equality is achieved.The first chapter makes a comprehensive analysis of the different female images in the root-seeking literature;discusses the role women played in their growth;explains the distortion,deformation and disappearance of the female images under the paternal imagination;explores the possibility of restoring the genuine female life experience in the root-seeking literature.The second chapter focuses on the women under traditional and modern culture in the root-seeking literature,combining the research results of gender culture to discuss the relationship between traditional and modern culture and female gender shaping,to illustrate the existence of women under the traditional and modern culture and reveal the intersection of gender politics between the traditional and modern culture.The third chapter points out women’s dilemma of drifting without roots in root-seeking literature;analyzes the causes of this dilemma;discusses women’s hardship of seeking root in the process of China’s social development.The fourth chapter analyzes the male discourse characteristics of the root-seeking literature;illustrates that the root-seeking literature renews the tradition of phallocentric narrative;demonstrates the marginalization of women in the root-seeking narrative.By studying the depiction of female in the root-seeking literature,we can find the blind spot of gender in the root-seeking literature.The blind spot of gender in the root-seeking literature reflects the blind spot of gender in the history of Chinese civilization.The imagination of gender not only lurks in literary narrative and cultural tradition,but also lurks in social and historical contexts.