[Keywords] Thorn Birds; Feminism; Gender relations; Paternal nuclear family
The Thorn Birds, with its unique charm, has aroused the enthusiasm of many researchers since its publication. Since 1992, China scholars have expounded and interpreted The Thorn Birds from the perspectives of religion, culture, narration, myth prototype theory and feminism. Scholars mainly analyze the hero and heroine, the implication of the environment and the tragedy of religion. However, when it comes to the use of feminist perspective, many scholars focus on the analysis of female discourse, female identity, female consciousness and female image. Throughout the research field, no scholars have explored the feminist thoughts expressed in The Thorn Birds from the perspective of the patriarchal nuclear family, pretending to be a leopard.
Patriarchy is one of the core concepts of feminist theory. [1]5 1 feminist criticism holds that "human progress and male civilization are based on the suppression of women, and patriarchy is maintained by suppressing women and hiding this suppression, while the growth history of women is the history of women's pursuit of self-awareness and subject existence in the process of being suppressed and anti-suppressed" [2], and patriarchal nuclear family is undoubtedly an important way to maintain patriarchy. Now, three generations of women, represented by Fei, show different female consciousness in the process of marriage and love. With the development of time, the patriarchal clan system in marriage has changed obviously, accompanied by the awakening of female consciousness. With the enhancement of women's consciousness, women's status in gender relations and family has gradually improved, in contrast to the decline of men's power. Once the enhancement of women's consciousness and the decline of the patriarchal system reach a balanced state, the relationship between men and women in the marriage subject breaks the traditional mode of male oppression of women under the patriarchal rule and reconstructs a harmonious relationship system between men and women.
First, the representative of the patriarchal nuclear family
Feminist critics believe that the nuclear family is the product of the patriarchal era. The so-called nuclear family here refers to the family composed of men and women in the traditional sense, and its cultural paradigm is that men dominate outside, women dominate inside, and men are superior to women. At present, the family composed of Fei and Paddy is the representative of the patriarchal nuclear family. In this family, Paddy, the man who controls the whole family, and Faye, the woman, are only his accessories, and they have no right to speak and decide, which embodies the mode that men are superior to women. First of all, Fei's marriage with Paddy is the product of a patriarchal society. Fi and Paddy are wrong, and neither is the family. Fei was born in a noble family, and Paddy was just an ordinary farmer working on Fei's father's farm. The relationship between Fei and Paddy is essentially a master-servant relationship. However, because Fei was born out of wedlock, he was considered to "defile the family style." [3] 129 Not only did she not have the right to pursue true love, but she married Paddy under the compulsory arrangement of her father. Before she married Paddy, Paddy was in awe of Fei. She just looked at her from a distance and thought about her beauty. "She was scared to death." [3] 130 However, once Fei became his wife, he instantly changed from "employee" to "master" in the relationship between them, and was completely dominant; As the master before marriage, Fei changed his master's momentum and became silent. "I don't like to talk more at will" [3] 1 1 Obey my husband's orders and always obey Paddy's orders without complaint. "Women are not born, but acquired. It is traditional customs and the needs of a patriarchal society that have created women. " [4] As a male in a patriarchal society, Paddy is in charge of everything and controls everything. The first thing he did was to reform his wife. His wife can't do housework, so he has been guiding her to do housework until Fei takes on all the housework and is busy with housework all day, completely losing her female self. This change is not only to change a woman's skills, but more importantly, through this skill change, men force women to identify with the social status and family status imposed on them by the patriarchal society. Even a woman of noble birth like Fei, in a patriarchal society, is only a vassal of men and a laborer who maintains family life. She can only play the role of a servant in the family, tired of family chores and has little rest time. Secondly, as the male parent of this family, Paddy also controls the economic power of the whole family. Paddy got a lot of money because he married Fei, and all the money fell into Paddy's hands; All economic affairs related to the outside world are decided by paddy field. He is responsible for farming and decides whether to go to Australia at the invitation of his sister. Although Fei blindly opposed the family going to Australia, Paddy didn't respect Fei's opinion, but tried every means to realize his wish, just because the final decision was still in Paddy's hand, because "Dad (Paddy) has always dominated Fei and his children." [3]3 1 1 Not only that, Paddy also controls the children's right to education. "She gave him the task of disciplining the children, and she always did as he said without complaint unless the situation was extremely abnormal." [3]11On the surface, it seems that the Philippines has ceded its children's right to education, but in essence, in the patriarchal nuclear family, women themselves have been exhausted by housework and childbirth, and it is impossible to have more energy to educate and guide their children; Moreover, in the male-dominated society, women can't go deep into social life, and there is no way to integrate into the male-dominated society except knowing to abide by the rules and abide by women's morality. Under such double oppression, women have no choice but to transfer their children's educational rights to men. Therefore, although Fei is a mother, she is deprived of all her rights except housework, including her children's right to education. In this marriage mode based on the patriarchal nuclear family, women have no status at all, work is dominated by men, children are educated by men, and money is dominated by men. Women have always been in the "other" position, inferior, dominated by men, and even deprived of the right to speak, which is the real reason why the Philippines has rarely spoken in the family. It can be seen that in the family composed of Paddy and Fei, patriarchy is everything and dominates everything. Women are just tools used by men, unable to have independent personality, lack of thinking ability and female consciousness, and can only reluctantly accept the domination of male-dominated society and men.
Second, the patriarchal nuclear family gradually disintegrated.
Unlike the nuclear family formed by Fei and Paddy, the family formed by her daughters Meggie and Luke is no longer a typical patriarchal nuclear family. In the process of continuous growth, Meggie gradually grew into a woman with independent female consciousness. In the marriage relationship between Meggie and Luke, women are no longer blindly attached to men and are enslaved by men physically and mentally. On the contrary, women realized their great power, so they changed from obedience at first to living for themselves, and finally even ignored the existence of men, so the patriarchal nuclear family gradually disintegrated in Meggie's family. Meggie and Luke got married for two reasons. One reason is that Meggie is the second best because she can't get the right one (Ralph), and another reason is that she subconsciously thinks that men are superior to women. Before getting married, although she didn't want to go dancing with Luke, she gave in because of Luke's insistence. Luke leads his relationship with Meggie in a male-centered way. Luke proposed to Meggie, and Meggie agreed, even though she knew Luke was not her true love. Meggie was not only emotionally ruled by male chauvinism, but also controlled by Luke in family life and economic life. Shortly after the wedding, Luke will go to Queensland to make money. Although he can see Meggie's sadness, "he doesn't care, because he doesn't want her to be an important person in his life, so he has to worry about her." [3]3 1 1 In Luke's view, Meggie is dispensable and has no power over him. In sexual life, Luke is also in a dominant position, ignoring Meggie's needs and pain. As Walker said, a woman's body has become something that men use, and even an independent woman has become the object of sexual intercourse. "Compared with men, women mainly exist as sex; Women are subordinate people, and they are subordinate to the Lord. " [5] In addition, Luke is in charge of economic power. At the beginning of the wedding, Luke clearly told Meggie that all the property was his, and a large part of it was Meggie's dowry. He went to earn money and never gave Meggie a penny. In order not to spend money, he forced Meggie to be a housekeeper. In order to collect money, he even refused to have children. As a representative of patriarchy, Luke only wants to realize his own value. Women and daughters are only men's private property, which is a burden and will only consume the money he has accumulated, because "girls are useless and can only eat a man's poverty" [3]388. However, no matter in family life or economic life, Meggie was in a submissive state. Even if she didn't agree, she finally cooperated with Luke's request. At that time, Meggie's female consciousness had not yet awakened, and she didn't realize that male chauvinism had done harm to her body and spirit. She took Luke's words as an imperial edict, and even if she was dissatisfied, she did not resist, but everything was carried out according to the requirements of men. It can be seen that the patriarchal society not only deprives women of their economic rights, but also deprives women of their reproductive rights, and even distorts women's self-awareness, resulting in women losing themselves and becoming subservient to men without knowing it.
However, through experience, Meggie's female consciousness began to awaken. When she was forced to be a housekeeper, she read a lot of books and realized that women should have their own ideas, not be suppressed by men. After that, she began to consciously resist the rule of male power. In sexual life, she no longer blindly succumbed to Luke's arrangement, but promoted her own needs to the first place. She dared to refuse Luke's sexual request, but she catered to her husband when she wanted children, relying on her own wisdom to conceive children, subverting the male-dominated position in sexual consciousness. She announced to Luke that his era of ruling money was over and she would not give him any money from now on. She also unilaterally broke up with Luke, although it was considered wrong in Australian society at that time. All this shows that women regard themselves as an independent individual, and affirm themselves not only from the physical level, but also from the social level by obtaining women's reproductive rights and economic rights. In the constant awakening and promotion of women's consciousness, they broke free from the barriers of patriarchal society and deepened from self-liberation to the height of fighting for social rights. In the end, Meggie left Luke, regained her property rights, obtained the custody of her children, and returned to her hometown of Drogheda with her children. At this point, the patriarchal family has collapsed. It is women themselves, not men, who decide the fate of women. Meggie works on a farm and supports her children with her own property and labor. At this time, to some extent, a female family appeared. The appearance of female family subverts the deeply-rooted patriarchal society. Meggie's inner strength and firmness denied the rationality of patriarchal culture, got rid of the dependence on patriarchal society, and became mature and independent with independent female consciousness. Luke, the representative of patriarchy, was placed in an insignificant position. Even if it is mentioned, only his words are seen, which shows the decline of patriarchy. When Meggie received Luke's letter, she just threw it away. On the psychological level, she completely abandoned the shackles of patriarchy and walked into a world where women pursued their own values and affirmed themselves.
Thirdly, the abdication of the patriarchal nuclear family and the harmony between the two sexes.
Meggie's daughter Zhu Siting is an independent woman with strong female consciousness. Her marriage with her husband Reina is based on equal treatment. Zhu Siting's marriage is no longer a traditional marriage attached to men, but a marriage of choosing men independently. Women are no longer at a disadvantage in the relationship between men and women, but equal with men, supporting and caring for each other, which embodies the harmonious relationship between men and women. Zhu Siting chose her own career as an adult. Regardless of social discrimination and family opposition at that time, she became an actress, and paid a lot of hardships for it, and finally achieved something. Her female consciousness is not only reflected in her independent choice and persistent pursuit of career, but also in her attitude towards marriage. Zhu Siting opposes becoming a vassal of marriage and losing herself. When Meggie asked him, "Don't you want to get married?" [3]526 Zhu Siting showed a contemptuous look: "Impossible! Cry and wipe your tears, and spend your life like a beggar? Bow to a man who thinks he is powerful, but in fact he is not half as good as me? " [3]526 In Zhu Siting's view, men in marriage are often inferior to women, but they often put themselves in a superior position than women. Such a marriage composed of men and women is obviously disdainful to her. Zhu Siting's female consciousness has penetrated into her thoughts and become the starting point and standard for her to measure everything. She used to have sex with different men, but she never promised them and didn't need their commitment. She is even afraid that men will give her promises and be bound by them. In dealing with the relationship between men and women, Zhu Siting broke the traditional pattern that women are at a disadvantage. On the contrary, as an independent woman, she refuses to agree that sexual relations mean the spiritual combination of men and women, but thinks that sexual behavior is only to please each other's physiological needs. She has always been in a dominant position in the whole process, dominating men's bodies and spirits, but not suppressing them, which reflects her independent and equal thoughts. In the attitude towards Reina, Zhu Siting has always adhered to the style of equality, treated Reina in an extremely confident way, was neither supercilious nor supercilious, was full of independent consciousness, and was not dominated by men. "That cool, self-centered and logical mind seems to have completely controlled her." [3]620 Zhu Siting's personality completely broke the traditional binary opposition and patriarchy. However, as a woman, Zhu Siting still inevitably has the unique sentimental feelings of women. When she felt that Reina no longer loved her, she was very sad and blamed herself. But after receiving her mother's letter, she took the initiative to go to Reina to confess her mistakes and prove her love for Reina. She is not only loyal to her feelings, but also respects men's choices, and has reached the realm of mutual love between men and women in thought and action. "With the development of feminism, feminists no longer emphasize the opposition between men and women, deny the absolute division of the two sexes and their characteristics, and think that no matter men or women, each individual is different, so women should no longer be regarded as another sex competing with men. The women's movement in this period was intended to eliminate conflicts and confrontation and promote the harmony between men and women in love and warmth. " [6] It can be seen that Reina's appearance is not accidental, but the result of the choice of women represented by Zhu Siting in the process of improving women's consciousness. Reina is full of masculinity, strong, intelligent, purposeful and indomitable. All these excellent qualities are undoubtedly indispensable factors for harmonious family relations between men and women. Reina changed the male image under the patriarchal system, and always treated women in an equal way, understanding and respecting women. In the ten years from knowing Zhu Siting, getting to know each other and falling in love, Reina waited for Zhu Siting's love with her unique patience. He is determined. He doesn't take love as a bargaining chip, but is loyal to his inner world. When Justin's feelings for him were still unclear, he just went to London from time to time as a friend to visit her, care for her and encourage her. His confidence and courage made him choose to appreciate the maverick Zhu Siting. Besides, Reina also respects Justine's choice of career. On the eve of their wedding, he said to Justin, "I won't let you change what you are now and become another you." Even the freckles on your face or a cell in your brain will not change. [3]69 1 From beginning to end, he thought that Zhu Siting was a completely independent woman, with her own unique personality and thoughts, and she was the object of his appreciation, equal to him. He has no selfish possessiveness, nor does he regard Zhu Siting as a part of his property. He neither controls her body nor her spirit, but supports and loves her unconditionally. The most commendable thing is that Reina's love for Justine is based on understanding, so it is firm and long-lasting. After the death of Dane (Zhu Siting's younger brother), Zhu Siting lost himself in remorse and was ready to give up his successful career in London and return to Drogheda. After learning this, Reina went to Drogheda alone and had a heart-to-heart talk with Meggie. Through Meggie's words, Zhu Siting realized what was the hardest part of her life, what was her real pursuit, and who could bring her real happiness and let her stay with her for life. Reina gained Justine's friendship with equal experience, and his understanding and respect captured Justine's love. Finally, they went to the palace of marriage. Reina, just as Zhu Siting called him Ryan for the first time, is really "living in a desert land" [3]588, which not only makes women's lives glow with dazzling light, but also adds the brilliance of men's great love. The relationship between men and women is no longer a paradigm of male domination and female attachment in a patriarchal society, but a harmonious relationship of equality and mutual love between men and women. Although the author did not mention the marriage life of Justine and Reina in the article, it is not difficult to infer from the lines that the family composed of Justine and Reina must be a harmonious family with equality and respect. In such a family, men and women respect each other, cherish each other, support each other, and be harmonious and perfect, just like the principle of "putting yourself in the other's shoes" and "empathy" advocated by all postmodern thinkers [7]. Only in this way can the two sexes in the family get real happiness. The patriarchal nuclear family, which once dominated, retreated to a harmonious family under the harmonious relationship between the two sexes.
Fourth, conclusion.
Colleen. By describing the different love and marriage situations of three generations, mccullough described the changing process of patriarchy from prosperity to decline, while the female consciousness has been rising. The weakness of male power and the enhancement of female consciousness tend to be balanced in constant changes. This evolution reflects the author's thinking on feminism. Obviously, the author exposed the arbitrariness of male chauvinism, criticized the oppression of male chauvinism on women, and promoted the promotion of female consciousness. However, the author did not praise feminism blindly and completely denied the male group. Reina shows the beautiful side of men, and even Zhu Siting, a woman with strong female consciousness, is attracted by her. They love each other, conquer each other and help each other, forming a harmonious relationship between the sexes and marriage. So, Colleen, Mccullough treated feminism calmly and formed the great evolution of the relationship between men and women and the patriarchal nuclear family with his unique perspective. Through the study of love and gender relations in family life in The Thorn Birds, readers will realize the harm of traditional patriarchal culture to women's body and mind, and realize that as long as women wake up and are unwilling to be vassals of patriarchal culture in gender relations, they will definitely break the monistic rule of this world, make the world balanced and just, make the relationship between men and women harmonious, and let the patriarchal nuclear family withdraw from the historical stage forever!
Note: I was instructed by Associate Professor Lei Yu and Professor Yuan Xiaohua of Nanjing University of Science and Technology in the writing process. Thank you!
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[Author Brief Introduction] Zhao Xi (1980-), female, from Yancheng, Jiangsu, is a graduate student of Nanjing University of Science and Technology and a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages of Huaiyin Normal University. Her main research interest is British and American literature.