Women's issue is an important social issue. Whether women get freedom, democracy and equal rights in social life is a sign to measure whether society is liberated. Women in feudal society in China lived at the bottom of society and were brutally oppressed by political power, clan power, husband power and theocracy. They had to abide by the feudal ethics and its moral standards, so they suffered the most. Based on this understanding and feeling, Lu Xun, the leader of China's Cultural Revolution, always paid attention to the oppressed women at the bottom of society while fighting against feudalism. In the article My View on Chastity published by 19 18, he lashed out at the view on chastity advocated by the feudal ruling class, pointing out that "praising chastity" is actually a kind of "abnormal morality" imposed on women. In the article "About Women", he even hit the nail on the head: "This social system has crushed women into all kinds of slaves, and has to put all kinds of charges on her." This shows Lu Xun's deep sympathy and pity for women's tragic experience and unfortunate fate.
Consistent with Lu Xun's thought and behavior, his novel creation is also full of angry criticism of the evil behavior of the feudal patriarchal clan system. It is the ideology of the feudal ruling class that enslaves and oppresses women, which has caused women in China to live in dire straits for thousands of years, suffering endless pains and tribulations both physically and mentally. With radical democracy and profound humanitarianism, Lu Xun mercilessly exposed and attacked feudalism which oppressed and tragically hurt women. In his realistic novels Tomorrow, Blessing, Divorce and Mourning for the Past, he created a series of typical images such as Shan Sisao, Xianglinsao, Ai Gu and Zijun with profound brushstrokes. Their tragic life and ending profoundly show the process of women being strangled under the feudal system, and between the lines, the author's anger and injustice are cast.
First of all, Lu Xun's work "Blessing" is a short story reflecting the tragic fate of working women in old China. Xianglinsao, the protagonist in Blessing, is a typical image of rural working women in old China. She is hardworking, kind, simple and tenacious, but in the old society, she not only failed to win the minimum rights of being a man, but became a person trampled, persecuted, despised and even swallowed up by feudal ethics and superstitions.
She also resisted all kinds of persecution and destruction imposed on her by feudal ethics: she married her husband ten years younger than her in her early years, and her husband died unfortunately. Sister Xianglin came to Luzhen alone and worked as a female worker in Master Lu's house. When Xianglinsao worked as a female worker in Master Lu's house, her mother-in-law suddenly came to Luzhen and forcibly took her away. I didn't know that Xianglinsao's mother-in-law forced Xianglinsao to marry Lishan in order to prepare a bride price for her brother-in-law. She also struggled and resisted; In the face of people's ridicule, insults and injuries, she gave a silent protest; She doubted the existence of the soul. However, under the double blow of feudal ethics superstition and people's swords and shadows, she not only failed to win the minimum qualification of being a man, but was swallowed up and destroyed. Sister Xianglin's struggle and struggle are completely spontaneous. In order to oppose remarriage, she fought "out of line" to maintain her "chastity"; In order to redeem "sin", she went to the earth temple to donate the threshold. She struggled and resisted in the mire of feudal ethics and superstition. This determines that she not only can't escape the tragedy that caused her life tragedy, but also can only go to the abyss of death in the end. Lu Xun not only exposed the persecution of Xianglinsao by feudal forces, but also excavated the resistance factors in her. But her rebellious consciousness is hazy. For a long time, she was poisoned by feudal reactionary cultural thoughts, so Sister Xianglin instinctively regarded the code of conduct regulated by feudal culture as the basis and standard of her life, so her resistance was dominated by feudal thoughts. When she died, her doubts about the "soul" contained the meaning of resisting fate. She hopes to see her son after death, which is a rebellion against fate. She also hopes that there will be no hell after death and she will not be sawed in half, which is also a rebellion against fate. However, she didn't have a clear understanding of feudal ethics and superstition, and didn't know the real reason of her life tragedy. Of course, she doesn't understand that to change her life destiny, she can only overthrow the evil feudal system that caused people's tragedies.
The single fourth sister-in-law in Lu Xun's work Tomorrow is the first female image created by Lu Xun. She is a numb and obedient woman who has completely lost her resistance. A poor widowed single fourth sister-in-law only supports herself and her three-year-old son Bao Er by spinning. Bao er was ill. He asked for a visa, made a wish and took a prescription. Bao Er's illness is still not getting better. She had to pin her hopes on the quack fairy. Superstition and quack killed Bao Er, and the widow's last hope was dashed. Under such social reality, how can a helpless young widow save her son and protect herself? In the face of a series of misfortunes and blows, Shan Sisao had to blindly obey and yield, without any dissatisfaction and resistance, completely numbing her hope for the arrival of "tomorrow", but when tomorrow came, Shan Sisao lost her only son and property. Tomorrow should give people hope and make them reborn, but every tomorrow of Sister-in-law Shan Si brings a heavy blow and disappointment. We can't find strength and hope in Sister Sans. While exposing the man-eating feudal society, Mr. Lu Xun began a difficult exploration on how to liberate working women.
Lu Xun pointed out in Forty Random Thoughts that women "made the sacrifice of old habits". Shan Sisao's blind obedience to feudal moral dogma and being at the mercy of her own destiny mean that what awaits this poor widow can only be heavier and more endless pain and sorrow, and it is a longer and darker ruthless year.
The love aunt in Divorce is the most rebellious rural female image in Lu Xun's novels about women, compared with Xianglin's and Shan Sisao's.
Ai Gu is also an authentic rural woman. She married Shi Jia at the age of fifteen, "bow your head, bow your head, there is no shortage of gifts". However, it was this kind and obedient rural young woman who became extremely bold, provocative and indomitable when her husband found another lover and wanted to abandon her, and waged a strong and lasting struggle. In feudal society, it is common for men to marry three wives and four concubines. Most women submit to humiliation and are forced to accept this fact. However, after her husband "married a little widow", Ai Gu made a fuss for three years, which made the family chicken crow and the dog jump. The family had to ask a gentleman to comfort the master, and the master only asked the family to pay 80 yuan to persuade her to "get separated." I love my aunt, but I don't listen. I think it's "unreasonable" to comfort the host, so I must tell him in the end, "Let them go bankrupt." How determined and heroic this is! This is unprecedented among women in old China. Finally, Shi Jia failed, so he invited seven people who had exchanged jobs with the county grandfather. Aigu still went to see the seven people and was not afraid to judge. In public, she complained that she was bullied and wronged in the Shi family, calling her husband a "little beast" and her father-in-law an "old beast". The feudal morality of "men are superior to women" and "marrying a good husband" has been greatly despised in her eyes. Ai Gu breathed a sigh of relief for the oppressed women. Although in the end, under the threat of the landlord, the family gave 90 yuan, and the two sides closed the case "separately". All of the above are the "achievements" of Aigu's divorce. Aigu's resistance is different from Xianglinsao's resistance, which is from being completely passive to having some active changes. From Ai Gu, we see the bud of modern equality between men and women, so we dare to think, speak and do. In Divorce, Ai Gu is still in a damaged position, also poisoned by feudal ethics, and still belongs to a tragic role. Besides, Ai Gu is a rural woman with no knowledge, no experience in the world and no experience in social struggle. She has illusions about the feudal ruling class, especially about the powerful people like the Seventh National Congress, who she thinks are "people who know books and reason" and "speak justice". She also wants to file a lawsuit with the county government. The lovely aunt didn't know that those seven people were representatives of feudal forces that oppressed her. Her husband dared to abandon her because there were seven lords and feudal ethics behind him. Seven people don't pay attention to the grievances of Aigu. Instead, they used his momentum to force her to yield and closed the case with "separation". Ai gu will eventually escape the tragic fate! Aigu is different from the strong resistance struggle in the past, and has the hope of getting rid of her tragic fate. This indicates that Mr. Lu Xun has made new progress and breakthrough in exploring the road of women's liberation in China.
Four sisters-in-law, Xianglin sister-in-law and Aigu, the typical images of rural women in feudal society, have been deeply poisoned by feudal thoughts, burdened with heavier mental pressure and their souls have been enslaved and distorted more seriously in the long and dark course of thousands of years. The author Lu Xun showed more concern and sympathy for them, but also showed infinite sadness and anger.
When Lu Xun paid attention to women's issues, he not only paid attention to rural women, but also paid attention to new urban women. Regret for the Past is Lu Xun's work featuring urban intellectual women. Gongzijun, the owner of the work, is different from Xianglinsao. She is educated and knowledgeable. She is a petty-bourgeois intellectual with bourgeois democratic thoughts who grew up under the influence of the May 4th new ideological trend. In order to fight for the freedom of love and marriage, I dared to compete with the old forces, bravely betrayed feudal ethics and feudal autocratic families, and proudly declared: "I am my own, and no one of them has interfered with my power." This is zijun's battle declaration against feudal autocracy. She lived with Juansheng, which showed her brave resistance to feudal morality and feudal marriage system. The author also criticized Zijun's weakness, compromise and ideological stagnation. When they set up a small family, they were immersed in the solidified peace and happiness, forgot the whole essence of life, devoted their energy to housework, served their husbands humbly, showed the good wife and mother of old-fashioned women, lost the ability and courage to fly, became mediocre and short-lived, and became mediocre domestic slaves from brave women in the new era. Because of her weak personality, she finally had to go back to her betrayed hometown and walk into a grave without a tombstone. The author also wrote her pure and kind character. For the sake of love, she doesn't care that Juansheng is a poor young man with a humble family. When she left Juansheng, she didn't leave a note, but silently left her only daily necessities to Juansheng. There is concern, regret and final nostalgia for love, which shows Zijun's pure and kind character. Because Juansheng was fired, the family economy was in trouble, and the relationship between Zijun and Juansheng gradually cracked, and finally they could not break up. After Zijun returned to the cold feudal family, he soon died in a loveless world. There is no doubt that Zijun's tragedy is the tragedy of the times.
Zijun's tragedy is inevitable, pinning his happy life on Juansheng, ignoring the economic foundation of marriage and family pillars. Women who have no independent economic status and independent consciousness and can only rely on others are doomed to encounter family and social misfortune. Zi Jun's sorrow lies in his ideological and cognitive limitations.
Based on the enlightenment spirit of "for life" and the feeling of lamenting the oppressed women, Lu Xun "consciously kept pace with the pioneers", exposed the soul of the sick society with the realistic style of grief and indignation, and entered the medical profession within a time limit. The author created several fleshy artistic images, such as Sisao Shan, Sisao Xianglin, Aigu and Zijun, and exposed and criticized the evil caused by the dark and ignorant policies of the feudal patriarchal clan system through their tragic life fate persecuted by the feudal society and its ethics. This is also one of the purposes of Lu Xun's shaping these women. How to get women out of the oppressed and enslaved position and win the right to be human beings is also a problem that Lu Xun has been deeply concerned about and thinking about. Lu Xun has always advocated a hard struggle with feudal society and its system. To this end, in his works, many places describe the struggle and resistance of the heroines. In order to get the minimum right to live, Sister Xianglin has been fighting and struggling all her life. And love, resistance is stronger, out of line; Zijun, in particular, used the new weapons of the times-bourgeois individualism and personality liberation to fight against marriage customs and strive for freedom of love and independence of marriage. Although these rebellions are weak to the powerful feudal society and its patriarchal clan system, they are tenacious. They are once dazzling sparks in the vast dark shadow, from which people can see "China women" ... and will see a brilliant dawn in the near future. Lu Xun clearly agreed with and strongly supported these women's desperate resistance to feudal bad habits. Lu Xun's attitude is consistent with his point of view, that is, if the women's liberation movement wants to be liberated, it must be integrated into the tide of social revolution. Only when the society is liberated can women finally liberate themselves.
The female images created by Lu Xun half a century ago, although their resistance and struggle eventually failed, their fighting spirit and unyielding character inspired and inspired countless later sisters and finally won. These female images created by Lu Xun have far-reaching significance.