摘 要

1. Introduction 1

2.An Introduction of Ecological Feminism 3

2.1 The definition of ecological feminism 3

2.2 Contents of ecological feminism 4

3.An Introduction of To the Lighthouse 5

3.1 The plot of To the Lighthouse 5

3.2 Ecological feminism used in To The Lighthouse 6

4.A Detailed Discussion about Ecological Feminism in To The Lighthouse 7

4.1 Contradictions between human and nature 7

4.2 Conflict between male and female 11

4.3 Build a harmonious society 13

5. Conclusion 15

Works Cited 17

Acknowledgements

First of all, I’d like to thank Mr. Geng Xiaojing, for his patient checking and professional guidance. Especially, he often kindly reminds me of paying attention to the progress of paper during my intern period. Besides, I’d like to express appreciate to Virginia Woolf for her remarkable creative and intelligence. This paper can’t be unfolded without her profound theory. Meanwhile, thank Francoise d'Eaubonne for his ecological feminism theory. This paper can’t be unfolded without it. Moreover, I’d like to thank library in our school for its abundant academic resources which helps me a lot. Last but not least, my parents have given a lot support to me and they care much about the process of my paper although they have no idea about the content of the paper. Thanks for their care and support so that I’m full of passion towards my paper.

Meng Yun

Abstract

With the development of eras, women have higher requirements for their own rights and benefits. As a result combined women’s liberation movement and ecological movement, ecological feminism offers a better theoretic direction for current problems and situations. Study of this paper will be unfolded from the perspective of ecological feminism. In accordance with ecological feminism, usages and effectiveness will be found out through analyzing the novel. Results show that the gender prejudice, race discrimination, class oppression, etc. have been disclosed by the author in a perfect and harmonious pattern. She also reflects and criticizes the political, economy and cultural systems on the basis of anthropocentrism and androcentrism. What’s more, from the perspective of ecological feminism to analyze this representative stream of consciousness work--To the Lighthouse, it’s effortless to find that Woolf depicts and deconstructs the antitheses between nature and human, male and female through Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey. From the ecological feminism angle, this paper advocates to reexamine their relationships, highlighting the ethic of “loving each other” to realize androgyny and the reconciliation to nature. As a result, not only can we better understand the novel，but also the classical literary can be reinterpreted.

Key words: Ecological feminism, To The Lighthouse, androgyny

中文摘要

随着时代的发展，女性对于自身权益也提出了更高的要求，因此女性主义的呼声也愈演愈烈。作为妇女解放运动和生态运动相结合的产物，生态女性主义给当下的种种问题提供了更好的理论指导。本文正是以生态女性主义为理论框架，对弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的小说《到灯塔去》展开研究，通过探寻生态女性主义在文中具体体现，解读其运用达到了怎样的效果与带来怎样的启发。经过研究发现，作者以完美和谐的艺术形式揭露了父权制统治下的性别偏见、种族歧视、阶级压迫等，并对建立在“人类中心主义”和“男性中心主义”基础上的政治经济和文化体系进行了反思。此外，从生态女性主义视角解读这一经典意识流作品，不难发现，作者通过拉姆齐夫妇展现了人类与自然、男性与女性的对立并对其进行解构。提倡以生态女性视角重新审视人与自然、人与人的关系，遵循相互关爱的伦理，努力达到一种自然与人和谐共处、男女双性通体的理想状态。因此，借助生态女性主义，不仅可以透过文字分析作品，亦可以重新阐释文学经典。

关键词：生态女性主义 到灯塔去 双性同体

Introduction

With the advancement of times, women in modern times have yielded a high standard towards their rights and benefits. Under this circumstance, feminism has gained much concern. Ecological feminism criticism, for the first time, combines women and nature together, to criticize literary works from the perspective of these two important subjects. From then the “marginalized” women and nature come to be “present” instead of “absent”. It is the first time for not only female but also nature to be main roles in literary study.

In the 20^th century, male-dominated society has been enhanced unprecedentedly, nevertheless feminism has attracted much attention. Young female writers, such as Virginia Woolf, Carolyn. Merchant, Maria Mies, use pens to strive for their own destiny. To commemorate her mother and father and to expresses herself, Woolf writes down the novel --- To The Lighthouse.

Ecological feminism means movements and philosophies that link feminism with ecology. Ecological feminism, as a vital concept of ecological philosophy, has drawn much interest of scholars from home and abroad. For example, Susan Griffin (1978), in her book Woman and Nature：The Roaring Inside Her, emphasizes values of nature and women and believes there is inborn connections exist between women and nature. Besides, Carolyn Merchant (1990), in The Death of Nature, believes male-dominated mechanical world view strangles the organic view of nature and deprives knowledge and strength from women. Meanwhile, Yuanyuan Zhao (2003), a Chinese scholar, puts forward theoretical and realistic meaning of ecological feminism. For theory, it reiterates the form of the organization with no hierarchy. Cares to the environment that has been destroyed day by day. For reality, it’s a pluralistic ecological culture, an ethics about care and connection. It plays a significant role in protecting women’s rights and benefits sustainable development of the society. There is no doubt that ecological feminism have provided many changes and will make more contributions to the development of whole mankind.

By reviewing the existed researched and resources, so far, there is little study based on ecological feminism theory to analyze To The Lighthouse. This paper will focus on the reflection of ecological feminism in To The Lighthouse and discuss what is the real intention of the author want to express by this novel.

This paper will be divided into five parts. Chapter one is an introduction of the whole paper. It contains background information, literature review, subject matter as well as layout of the whole paper. Chapter two is the theoretical frame of the paper, which is ecological feminism. Definition, origin and contents of Ecological Feminism will be included in this chapter. Chapter three is about the novel --- To The Lighthouse. Chapter four is the body part of the whole essay. First, it will show confrontations between human and nature, then the confrontations between male and female. Last the author’s main intention of the whole novel, which is to build a harmonious society. Chapter five will draw a conclusion of the above study and related comments will be given out.

2.An Introduction of Ecological Feminism

2.1 The definition of ecological feminism

Ecological feminism is a product combined feminist movement and ecology movement in 1970s. After 1960s, ecological crisis becomes more and more serious. Relationships between environment and society, nature and human have attracted the attention of academic circle. A series of new subjects show up to discuss environmental deterioration and ecological crisis, in order to seek the possibility for a sustainable development of human civilization and society. Against such a background, in 1962, an American female ecological thinker, Rachel Carson (1962) published Silent Spring to identify the tribulations that the nature suffers from human. In 1974, a French female scholar, Francoise d’ Eaubonne (1974), proposes Ecological Feminism for the first time. This term combines feminism and ecological thought together and points out the connections between women and nature. In 1978, she publishes another essay, Écologie, féminisme: révolution ou mutation?, points out that nature and women all suffer from neglect (Francoise d’ Eaubonne, 1978). The only way out is working together to save themselves and the earth. Since then, as a brand new theory, Ecological Feminism appears.

2.2 Contents of ecological feminism

The core concept is that there are inner connections between human’s control to the nature and male’s control to female. On the one hand, it advocates to link natural discrimination and gender discrimination, seeking to find a special and ubiquitous connection existing in discriminated female and nature. What’s more, it opposes the repression to nature, female and other vulnerable groups under the control of anthropocentrism and binary thinking. On the other hand, ecological feminism proposes to eliminate binary opposition between human and nature, and male and female, in order to build a new relationship, which allows human and nature, and male and female not only to rely on each other but also live peacefully. In a word, ecological feminist literary criticism combines ecological criticism and feminist criticism together, providing us a new method to re-read this classic work and endowing the novel with other meaning and value.

3.An Introduction of To the Lighthouse

3.1 The plot of To the Lighthouse

To the Lighthouse is written by Virginia Woolf, an English writer who is a world widely accepted master. She is one of the pioneers of current British literature and one of the vanguards of modernism and feminism in the 20^th century. With the help of James Joyce and Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf leads stream of consciousness novel to a climax, which significantly influences traditional writing methods in the whole world. Their appearance and endeavor represents a watershed between traditional literature and modern literature.

The whole story can be divided into three parts: The Window, Time Passes and The Lighthouse. The first part takes about two-thirds of the whole book, which is about an afternoon. Main conflicts are about whether they can go to the lighthouse tomorrow or not. The Ramsey family are spending a holiday in an island with their guests. Children all want to go to the lighthouse, however, these rational and professional male, especially Mrs. Ramsey, disproves this opinion relentlessly. On the contrary, Mr. Ramsey kindly console and promise children that they could go to the lighthouse. Meanwhile, this part also describes behaviors and characters of the guests in a dinner, which also marks the end of this part.