Feminist theory exists in a variety of disciplines, emerging from these feminist movements and including general theories and theories about the origins of inequality, and, in some cases, about the social construction of sex and gender. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's rights—such as their rights in contract, property, and voting — while also promoting women's rights to bodily integrity and autonomy and reproductive rights. They have opposed domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. In economy, they have advocated for workplace rights, including equal pay and opportunities for careers and to start business.
This paper focuses on the feminist ideas by a simple analysis of Scarlett’s refusing to bow to the fate. It also tries to give a brief introduction of the influence of Scarlett’s fighting spirit on modern women, which will greatly benefit people in everyday life.
2. Literature Review
Recent years have witnessed a steady increase in the popularity of feminism, which is a main character of the Gone with the wind and many people have done research on it before. The consciousness of feminism can be concluded in a sentence, that is: Women demand independence and equality, and dare to challenge the idea of macho culture. Moreover, feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical fields. It mainly shows the following several aspects and from which, we can gain further insight into the nature of the feminism:
1. The investigation of the women's situation. Women are usually deprived of power and ability to some extent. And this social unevenness causes plenty of women to live miserably and they are often regarded as the appendix to the men. As such, feminism is a forceful trend to drive women to struggle.
2. The endurance of female power. It includes economic rights, political rights, legal rights and so on. Among these rights, the equality of rights between men and women should be set in the first priority. But in fact, the rights of women are excluded and trodden down.
3. The awakening of women's self consciousness. It brings the liberation of the women's subjectivity and free development. Therefore, the feminist theory not only involves the social question, but also concerns women themselves. Self awareness or consciousness is the key towards development. Women themselves constantly strive to become strong in self struggle and social movement, and if females can be united as one, the possibility of success will be increased dramatically.
4. The humanitarian justice for women who suffer from discrimination. Feminism reveals the human real justice, freedom and humanity's responsibility, including the human culture and national culture, to the whole of the inpidual.
5. The establishment of female identity and their status in society. It is indispensable in building up this theory. The liberation of women is reflected in the identity and social status and thus in getting the right position in society, women's liberation, freedom and development are the main points of feminism , which will be likely to help to put an end to women's tragedy and help them to get rid of the woeful predicament.
The main character Scarlett in Gone with the Wind is a vivid image of the women who pursue the feminism. Her action of independence and no yielding to the macho culture has enabled the novel to reach an unprecedented level of writing. Some researchers have investigated feminist ideas of Scarlett and they have found that Scarlett has some personalities, such as bravery, inpidualism, and ability. These previous achievements undoubtedly contribute a lot to the study of the field of feminism in Gone with the Wind. However, little attention has been paid to examining the heroine’s feminist ideas through the analysis of her fight against the fate. 源'自:751-'论.文'网"]www.751com.cn