On The Feminism In The Salvation Army Writing In The Late Victorian Age

The Salvation Army is a philanthropic organization that was established in Britain in 1865.During the highly developed society of the late Victorian age,it played an important role in relieving the poor and filled the gap in the relief services provided by the government.From its establishment,it has worked to alleviate the economic and spiritual poverty of the lower class people,insisting on equal rights for women with men.In the three works of the Salvation Army,Captain Lobe(1889),The Darkest London and the Way Out(1890)and Major Barbara(1905),there are a large number of poor women characters and female members of the Salvation Army,depicting the predicaments of poor women who suffered more from economic and spiritual poverty than men.And those female members,through a series of actions,help to improve the conditions and status of poor women,while at the same time saving and growing themselves.This thesis focuses on the feminist theory of Beauvoir,starting with her ideas of“women’s immanent predicaments”,“women’s choice” and “women’s transcendence”.The above three literary works analyzed in this thesis explore the efforts of these women to improve their situations.Firstly,the thesis examines the predicaments of the poor women and female members of the Salvation Army in the three works,which can be divided into the economic and moral predicaments of the poor women,and explores the predicaments of social identity and self-consciousness of female members.Secondly,it analyzes the different choices and struggles made by the women in the face of their predicaments,divided into the different attitudes of the poor women towards rescue and the actions taken by the female members.Finally,it analyzes the self-transcendence achieved by the women through their different struggles.Specifically,it highlights the increased job opportunities for poor women and their attainment of spiritual independence.Meanwhile,female members achieve self-transcendence by fostering a philanthropic culture and assuming social responsibility.Through the analysis of the three works,it is shown that women actively struggle to change their inner predicaments in order to break through inner bondage and achieve self-transcendence,reflecting the affirmation of their quest for freedom,equality and independence and the criticism of patriarchal society,and it also reveals the ruling class’ s indifference to philanthropic work from a side perspective.In addition,it has a positive practical significance for the study of contemporary women’s survival issues.They should make the right choices in the face of social difficulties,take the path of liberation and become independent and free individuals.This is also of great importance for building a harmonious relationship between the genders.