Abstract Charles Dickens is one of the greatest critical realistic writers of the Victorian Age. In his Great Expectations, many vivid female characters are created, leaving deep impression on readers of all countries. Miss Havisham is one of the most impressive creations, and the description of her tragedy displays the corruption of the society. In this paper, the tragedy of Miss Havisham will be analyzed from the feminist point of view, aiming at exploring her tragic life and revealing women’s fate in the male-dominated society.48992

This paper falls into four parts. The first part serves as an introduction, including the introduction of Dickens and the background of this novel. The second part aims at pointing the definition of feminism and the typical character of Charles Dickens’ feminism. The third part is about the analysis of Miss Havisham in this novel and how feminism showed in her. The fourth part functions as a conclusion.

Key word: Great Expectations, Miss Havisham, tragic fate, feminism, feminist literary criticism

 摘要查尔斯 · 狄更斯是维多利亚时代的最伟大的批判现实主义作家之一。在《远大前程》中，他创造了许多生动的女性角色，给世界各国的读者留下深刻的印象。其中，郝薇香小姐是一个最令人印象深刻的，同时，她的悲剧是社会的腐败一个映照。本文将从女性主义角度分析郝薇香小姐的悲剧，旨在探索她的悲剧人生，揭示在男性主导的社会中妇女的命运。

本篇论文分为五大部分，第一部分是介绍，包括对查尔斯·狄更斯及《远大前程》写作背景的介绍。第二部分是介绍女性主义概念及《远大前程》中的女性主义。第三部分是论述部分，讲述《远大前程》中郝薇香小姐这个角色是如何体现女性主义的。第四部分是结论。

毕业论文关键词：《远大前程》 郝薇香小姐 悲剧命运 女性主义 女性主义文学批评

 CONTENTS 

Acknowledgments i

Abstract ii

摘要 iii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction to the Author and his Works 1

1.2 Literary Review of Great Expectations 2

2. Feminist Literary Criticism on Great Expectations 5

2.1. Definition of Feminism and Feminist Literary Criticism 5

2.2. The History of Feminism and Feminist Literary Criticism 6

3. Root of Miss Havisham’s Tragedy - 10 -

3.1 Miss Havisham and Her Tragic Fate - 10 -

3.2 The Root of Her Tragic Fate - 12 -

4. Conclusion - 17 -

Bibliography - 18 -

 1 Introduction

As one of the most excellent critical realist writers in the Victorian Age, Charles Dickens often exposes and criticizes the unfairness, poverty, corruption and hypocrisy in his works. He describes an overall picture of the 19th century of England for our readers, especially London. Great Expectations is one of Charles Dickens’s novels which represents the inpidual development and growth and disclosing the moral destruction and degeneration brought by the overwhelming social environment to people. Plenty of critics study this novel from very different perspectives.

1.1 Introduction to the Author and his Works

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers in the 19th century of Britain who has an enormous impact on English literature. He was widely regarded as the most outstanding Victorian novelist, playwright and journalist. Recently with the rise of new theories, such as Psychoanalytical Criticism, Anglo-American New Criticism, Reader Criticism, Feminist Criticism, Myth and Archetypal Criticism, Gender Studies as well as Post-Colonial Studies, these studies on the writer’s works are going up.