摘 要

《荆棘之城》讲述了一个身份互换的故事，故事里面牵涉着一个酝酿了几十年的惊天阴谋。作为小说中的头号主人公，莫德的形象极其复杂，其形象的形成与其生存的空间有着直接关系。生存在女性地位低下的维多利亚时代，莫德饱受压迫与束缚，但她试图从精神、身体、经济等方面挣脱父权文化的束缚。

本文旨在通过分析女主人公莫德的人物形象特点，挖掘其形象的代表意义，揭示小说主题，理解作者写作意图。本文共分为六个部分。第一部分简要介绍作者萨拉沃特斯、小说的基本故事情节、研究现状及研究意义。第二部分从影响主人公的三个生存空间，即疯人院、荆棘庄园和兰特街，分析其形象特点。第三部分从父权制对女性的压迫角度分析女主人公形象的代表意义。第四部分探讨女主人公女性意识的觉醒。第五部分从作者赋予主人公的特殊身份，即女同性恋者和色情文学作家，分析作者写作意图，揭示小说主旨。最后一部分总结小说主旨：女性要勇于发现自我，表达自我和追寻自我。

关键词：莫德；父权制；女性意识；形象；女同身份

Abstract

Fingersmith tells a story about identity exchange, which involves a conspiracy that has been brewing for decades. Maud as the protagonist in the novel, her image is extremely complex, and the formation of her image is directly related to her survival space. Living in Victorian era in which women had no status, Maud was oppressed and bound, but she tried to break the fetters of patriarchal culture from the aspects of spirit, body and economy.

This paper aims at analyzing the characteristics of Maud’s image, digging out the representative meaning of her image, revealing the theme of the novel and understanding the author’s writing intention. This paper is divided into six parts. The first part is the brief introduction to the author Sarah Waters, the basic plot of the novel, the research status and the significance of the study. The second part analyzes the characteristics of Maud’s image from the three living spaces, madhouse, Briar manor and Lant Street. The third part analyzes the representative significance of Maud’s image from the perspective of patriarchy’s oppression to women. The fourth part explores the awakening of the Maud’s feminine consciousness. The fifth part analyzes the author’s writing intention and reveals the theme of the novel from the angle of Maud’s special identity, lesbian and pornographic writer. The last part concludes the theme: women should be brave in discovering themselves, expressing themselves and pursuing themselves.

Key Words: Maud, patriarchal society, feminine consciousness, image, lesbian identity

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 The Characteristics of Maud’s Image 3

2.1 Madhouse — indifference and discipline 3

2.2 Briar manor — silence, obedience and revenge mentality 4

2.3 Lant Street — helplessness and struggle 5

3 The Representation of the Oppressed Female in the Patriarchal Society 6

3.1 The concept of patriarchy 6

3.2 The oppression from the rulers in Patriarchy 6

3.3 The oppression from women 8

4 The Awakening of Feminine Consciousness 10

4.1 Feminine consciousness 10

4.2 Conspiracy for freedom 10

4.3 The awakening of the body’s desire 11

5 Subversion of Traditional Female Images 13

5.1 Lesbian identity 13

5.2 Pornographic novelist 13

6 Conclusion 15

References 16

Acknowledgments 17

An Analysis of Maud’s Image in Fingersmith

1 Introduction

Sarah Waters, the British modern high-profile writer, who was born in London, is considered to be one of the best novelists nowadays. She is famous for creating novels set in Victorian era and most of her important works are more or less involved in homosexuality. Her first three novels, Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, Fingersmith, known as the Victorian trilogy, made her highly praised by the mainstream critics, especially by the gay and lesbian press. As the representative of the Victorian trilogy, Fingersmith won a highly evaluation of the major newspapers and was nominated in the 2002 Orange Prize and the Booker Prize for its unique perspective, exquisite writing style and the twists plot design.

Fingersmith tells a story of identity exchanging, which involves a terrible conspiracy that brewed a dozen years. Maud and Sue are the two main characters. The novel is divided into three parts. The first part is narrated in the view of Sue. Under the arrangement of Mrs. Sucksby, Sue, together with a cheater who nicknamed “Gentleman”, deceive the rich girl who looks innocent, trying to send her to the madhouse in order to win her mother’s legacy. The second part is narrated from Maud’s perspective. In this part, it was recorded that Maud grew up in a madhouse before ten years old. Later, she was imprisoned in the manor by her uncle, and was trained to be a secretary in her uncle’s library. She looked obedient superficially, while had a dark and rebellious mood. She was full of longing for the world outside the manor. When she learned that she could escape from the manor with “Gentleman”, she began planning to frame Sue up so that let her go to the madhouse instead. The abnormal childhood made Maud cold, dark, struggling, while intimately close to Sue make her feel warm. The two women had mutual feelings in the process of cheating each other. In the third part, all the truth is out.