A comparative analysis of A Farewell to Arms and Gone with the Wind on ecological feminism

白睿翔

摘要：由享譽(yù)世界作家厄內(nèi)斯特·海明威編著的《永別了，武器》被看作是在美國乃至全世界的一部經(jīng)典作品。它以一戰(zhàn)為背景，敘述了一位救護(hù)車司機(jī)亨利和一名英國護(hù)士凱瑟琳的愛情故事。同樣地，美國女作家瑪格麗特·米切爾通過《飄》向我們展示了美國南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)期間種植園主的女兒斯嘉麗和瑞德之間曲折艱辛的愛。我們可以看到，這兩部作品都是以戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)為背景，也都向我們展示了人世間永恒的主題-愛。

作者將從生態(tài)女性主義角度分析這兩部經(jīng)久不衰的作品。首先，我將簡(jiǎn)單介紹《永別了，武器》和《飄》這兩部作品的主要內(nèi)容;其次，我將細(xì)致地分析兩位女主人公在父權(quán)社會(huì)壓力下兩種截然不同的表現(xiàn)，然而她們無論如何回應(yīng)，卻都始終無法逃脫悲劇的命運(yùn);第三部分我將從生態(tài)女性主義角度分析她們悲劇命運(yùn)的成因。最后，我將總結(jié)此篇論文對(duì)我們現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的指導(dǎo)意義。

Abstract

A Farewell to Arms， written by a renowned writer Ernest Hemingway， has been recognized as a legendary classic in America even all over the world. It depicts a love story between an ambulance driver Henry and a British nurse set in World War Ⅰ. Likewise， Gone with the Wind has been an enduring masterpiece left by American female writer Margaret Mitchell and won Pulitzer Prize in 1937. It shows us the tortuous love between Scarlett and Rhett Butler under the background of American Civil War. We can draw that these two novels are both set in the war and show us the eternal theme---love.

The author will analyze the two work from ecological feminism perspective. Despite the fact that these two work are created by different writers and come out in different times， they have some comparable points that both reflect the ecological feminism to some extent. First， I will make a brief introduction about A Farewell to Arms and Gone with the Wind. Second， I will analyze quite different disposition and behavior but similar tragic ending of two heroines Catherine and Scarlett under patriarchy pressure. The third part is to explain the reasons why these happened from eco-feminist perspective. Last， I will make a conclusion and show its reality meaning.

（ Key words： ecological feminism， patriarchy pressure， war）

Ⅰ. Introduction of Two Novels

In A Farewell to Arms， the protagonist Henry， an American young man， served as an ambulance driver in Italian army voluntarily during the first World War. He meets a British nurse Barkley Catherine in hospital through lieutenants introduction. Since then， Henry often visits Catherine but he just flirts and treats her lightly other than sincerely. However， Henry gets badly hurt in the process of carrying out the task on the front.Under the care of Catherine at Milan hospital， Henry recovers better and better. They really fall in love with each other deeply this time and Catherine gets pregnant soon. Witnessing the brutality and cruelty of the front line once again， Henry makes up his mind to escape from the army and heads for Switzerland with Catherine stealthily. In the end， Catherine dies due to dystocia and their baby dies too.

In Gone with the Wind， the heroine Scarlett， the oldest daughter of manor owner of Tara， has a crush on Ashley but he has decided to marry his cousin Melanie. So Scarlett chooses to accept Charless proposal in a fit of pique. However， Charles soon dies of illness. During the war， witnessing the great sufferings of Melanies giving birth to a baby， the agony of parting with kinfolks and the desolation of Tara， she is conscious that she ought to shoulder more responsibility to get the whole family out of trouble. To pay for tax and keep Tara ，she persuades her sisters fiance Frank into marrying her and then Frank dies on a night raid. Finally， Rhett proposes to Scarlett and she accepts. They soon have a daughter named Bonnie， but Scarlett still couldnt forget Ashley. Unluckily， their daughter dies accidentally and Rhett determines to leave Scarlett.

Ⅱ. Women s Different Behaviour Under Patriarchy Pressure but Similar Tragic Ending

As we know， women have been in pursuit of emancipation and self-consciousness， which contributes to the social continuous progress much. Under patriarchy society， women can gradually form two quite different temperaments. The one is an angel in the family who is obedient to his husband and devotes herself to her family and the other is a warrior who doesnt comply with principles the society made for women and is always breaking all the shackles for a more independent life. Two heroines just stand for two quite different choices.

A.Catherine- An Angel in the house

In A Farewell to Arms， the heroine Catherine can be commonly regarded as “Angel in the house” who are pretty， obedient and devoted. This concept is put forward by an English poet Coventry Patmore in her poems first. She is pretty， tender， kind and selfless， perfectly interpreting a qualified woman as required by norms.

“She was carrying a thin rattan stick like a toy riding-crop， bound in leather.“It belonged to a boy who was killed last year.”“I'm awfully sorry.”“He was a very nice boy. He was going to marry me and he was killed in the Somme.” （Margaret Mitchell， 18） Through this dialogue， we knows that she keeps that stick all the time in memory of her late fiance. It s clear that she is truly a sincere and loyal female. After Henry is wounded by shells， he is sent to the hospital in Milan. Catherine spares no effort to save time to take care of Henry. They have been in love with each other gradually and soon Catherine gets pregnant. When Henry recovers and comes back to the front again， he realizes the nature of war and chooses to go away from the front with strong resolution. He finds Catherine at Milan and they have to flee to Switzerland in the heavy rain to avoid the officers chase. Catherine has been during pregnancy but takes no notice of her own health condition to get rid of officers and help Henry out of trouble as soon as possible. What we conclude is that she is a totally dedicated and devoted woman. At the end， when she is prepared for giving birth to a baby， she is confronted with lots of delivery problems but still shows the strong will and courage to us. We can feel such devotion and deep love for Henry from following sentences.

“ She held the rubber tight to her face and breathed fast. I heard her moaning a little. Then she pulled the mask away and smiled.” “Don't you worry， darling. You go away. Go have another breakfast.” “I try as hard as I can.” “ Oh， darling， I have the most wonderful doctor.” （Margaret Mitchell， 258， 260） Unfortunately， she spares no effort to deliver a dead baby and then passes away due to hemorrhage.This is a so tragic ending in that she always pays more attention to Henry and neglects herself a lot.

B.Scarlett-A Warrior

Scarletts self-consciousness has gone through two periods from spontaneity to consciousness. She isnt willing to become a obedient girl and often shows reluctance to following her Mammy and mothers advice at a very young age. She always climbs the trees with boys to cast little stone， declines to have anything before banquet and become a lady eating like a bird. Mammy tells her not show your bosom before three o clock but she drags her neckline implacably. “ Im tired of everlastingly being unnatural and never doing anything I want to do. Im tired of walking when I want to run and saying I feel faint after a waltz， when I could dance for two days and never get tired...” （Ernest Hemingway， 90） She shouts back always like that. This kind of thought and behaviour are fairly inconsistent with that strictly traditional women. These are obvious reflections of her spontaneity consciousness. Whats more， she is so courageous that she confess to Ashley directly instead of concealing her love， making a great challenge to that society filled with principles for women. We can clearly feel her craze and her own style through the original materials. “ She had wanted him， in that first instant， wanted him as simply and unreasoningly as she wanted food to eat， horses to ride and a soft bed on which to lay herself. ”（Ernest Hemingway， 38） When her first husband Charles dies of illness， she has to wear a black gown to mourn for him. During that period， Scarlett has been dull all the time for she couldnt show up in the a variety of balls to show herself. Soon， neglecting the codes of conduct in society once again， she appears in a ball as a widow and dances with Rhett. She always dares to break strict social rules and do what she would like to do. It is the war that brings Scarlett self-consciousness and makes her grow up quickly. She gradually realizes the brutality and cruelty of the war and shows incomparable will and bravery during this period. Having overcome a train of difficulties along the road， she finally comes back to Tara with Melanie and her baby. Upon arriving at Tara， she is confronted with how to keep it safe. Knowing that Frank ， her sister Sullen s fiance， is running a store and accumulating a amount of money， she tells that Sullen wouldnt like to wait for her any longer and makes efforts to persuade him into marrying her， which already touches the ethical baseline. Last， she succeeds in paying off the tax by France and Tara survives fortunately. Gradually， she is aware that she has competence in running the business and making it develop prosperously， resulting in public comments . We witness that Scarlett grows up from innocent to mature. She dares to challenge the traditions and battles with stereotypes to lead her own self-reliant life. All of these are enough to prove that she is a warrior under patriarchy society. There is no doubt that she is successful in her career. But at last， Rhett makes up his mind to leave her. Its not just because she runs up his patience and passion but she is mature and independent enough to face with all kinds of challenges herself.

Scarlett often does what she wants to do while Catherine chooses to do what she should do and her behavior is appreciated by the society. However， they both cannot escape from the miserable fate.

Ⅲ. The Reasons of Tragedy from Eco-feminist Perspective

A. An Overview of Ecological Feminist

Ecological feminism was firstly put forward by Francois d Eaubonne ，a French philosopher and feminist in the late 1970s. This theory is a combination of environmentalism and feminism. With the aim of emancipating women and nature from patriarchy society， eco-feminists contend we should strive to build such a society that advocates the utmost equality between men and women and harmonious co-existence between men and nature.

B.The Reasons of Tragedy

1.The Connection between Female and Nature

It seems that women have their roots in nature. At the beginning of Gone with the Wind， Gerald shouted： “Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything . This is the only thing worth working for， worth fighting for ， worth dying for.” No matter what trouble she meets， she is filled with strengths and courage as long as she sees Tara. As Rhett comments on her， “the sight of cotton growing will do her more good...” （Margaret Mitchell， 950）

Likewise， garden is to Catherine what land is to Scarlett. Garden is also the symbol of nature， which gives us relaxation and pleasure. It is just in the garden that Henry and Catherine meet for the first time. On the following days， every time Henry calls on her， it seems that garden has already been synonymous with Catherine. “Miss Barkley was sitting on a bench in the garden.” “Shall we sit here or go out in the garden？ ”（Ernest Hemingway， 24，28） We can draw a conclusion that， in her mind， nothing can beat the luxury of the pleasure in the garden since it not only frees herself from the bloody but also manifests an beginning of their love.

To great extent， nature is arguably synonymous with women. They have such a close connection with each other that brings about similar tragic ending.

2.Males Attitudes toward Female and Nature

However， when we tun our focus onto men， they are more likely to be the source of all the sufferings and unhappiness. They declare a war on each other and leave their wives and children at home alone， bringing about endless anxiety and agony. At the same time， a large area of land is trampled relentlessly. “Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees.” （Ernest Hemingway， 6）

“Of course well fight—” “Yankee thieves—” “We could lick them in a month—” “Why， one Southerner can lick twenty Yankees—” “Teach them a lesson they wont soon forget—” “Peaceably？ They wont let us go in peace—” “No， look how Mr. Lincoln insulted our Commissioners！” “Yes， kept them hanging around for weeks—swearing hed have Sumter evacuated！” Beautiful scenes become desolate and fertile land turn to barren like a flash. What is more，“hunt” is also referred to many times in A Farewell to Arms， which is almost a everyday activity for male. “There is a good hunting” “But what was lovely was the fall to go hunting through the chestnut woods” “ They are chamois hunters” （Ernest Hemingway， 14， 63， 248）These are some examples. The male are continually conquering nature and controlling female， which is not a harmonious way at all. All these behavior leads to that tragedy indirectly.

Ⅳ. The Reality Meaning from Eco-feminist Perspective

When we reread the two novels today， we can still take in some reality meanings from that. Under patriarchy society， no matter how to response to it， it seems inevitable to get rid of miserable fates. Nowadays， “ a community of shared future” is initiated over and over again. All of the countries ought to go to great lengths to cooperate with each other to maintain the balance of ecology. Standing at an eco-feminist point， the time has also come that we should have an awareness of gender-equality and co-existence between human and nature to build a compatible and prosperous society.

Conclusion

Ecological feminist theory guides us recognize our inner world and pursue equality between male and female indeed. We are supposed to enjoy the same right to pursue happiness. It has also been a consensus to establish a society of sustainable and harmonious development.

Works Cited

English Works

Hemingway， E. A Farewell to Arms [M]， New Jersey， Prentice Hall &IBD， 1995-6-1

Liu Xia， Paradise Lost [D]， Fujian Normal University， 2009： 1-2

Mitchell，M. Gone with the wind [M]， Reissue edition， May 3 2001

（山西師范大學(xué)?山西?臨汾?041000）