Polarized Contradiction of the Female Image Created by Cao Yu—— A Case Studyof Fanyi〔＊〕

Zhang Peifang

（School of Foreign Languages Wuhan University of Engineering Science，Wuhan Hubei 430074）

Ⅰ.Introduction

Fanyi is a controversial female image in Thunderstorm，a tragedy by Cao Yu.Her cold language and facial expression hide her inner anger and desire to break away.We can hear the dialogue between“Eva”and the“Holy Virgin”，the wail of imprisonment and liberation and the footstep of rebellion and obedience in her.

The appearance of Fanyi together with her characteristics of “thunderstorm”spurts a breakthrough power in the wave of the transition from the old to the new in literary circle.We cannot but notice that the depiction of female is the most eye-catching part of the“l(fā)iberation”wave.Female has stepped out of the screen and marched onto the stage in literary works，just like Fanyi，who tries to break the shackle of male dominance for thousands of years with her gloomy spirit and brave action.She is a post-May 4th Movement bourgeois women who is clever，beautiful and eager to pursue freedom and love.However，she is also willful and weak，passionate yet lonely.She suffers mentally and hopes to get rid of her present life but can do nothing but submit to this situation.It reflects the typical representative of female image in the transition from the old to the new in literary circle.However，in the major transformation，the imagination of female image of narrative subject（especially male writers）has become a contradiction spiral in the female“power current”.In the process of seeking liberation，we cannot avoid the opposition of“gender metaphor”.

With the representative of Cao Yu’s creation，especially the creation of Fanyi，the unbosoming of oneself in a “psychological sketch”has been added in the depiction of female.This writing with self-narration and creation mind featuring aim orientation have double metaphor when reflecting on specific images：first，male writer selects the opposite gender as the object of their own psychological narration，or set a female as the metaphor of a type of subject；second，the image and feature of these female all manifest the polarized contradiction：they can be beautiful and mild，gentle and nice，or crazy and cold，angry and dangerous.Fanyi，as a complex literary image，possesses both images，from whose inner contradiction we can witness male’s diversified mentality towards female in the process of creation.

Ⅱ.Dream and worship of the female— “Angels”coming into being

Fanyi’s first appearance is beautiful and moving，and the words used to depict her can be generalized as“beautiful，gloomy，weak and quiet”，which are often used by male writers in shaping female image.This type of feminine image constitutes a delicate characteristic.In other words，in the depiction of female，male cannot help but hold a protective and mighty mentality.Rebellious women like Fanyi also possess such characteristics.

In terms of personality，despite that Fanyi is inimical to Zhou Puyuan，she is nice and gentle to Zhou Ping.

Like female images in other male writers’works，they leave an impression of being beautiful，smart，gentle and virtuous.They depend on male and are full of spirit of self-sacrifice，just like angels.The feature of“angel”of Fanyi is manifested in her beautiful appearance and loyalty to her lover as well as her love to Zhou Chong，her son.

The fine quality of Fanyi reflects the creation mentality of male，which can be originated from the birth story of male and female recorded in the Bible.Female is created by male.Therefore，it is believed that female is dependent on male.Males hope to be worshiped and relied on，or to get rid of loneliness，so they create female.As a result，female should be created by the standards of male.For a man，when it comes to conquer a woman，he not only needs to conquer her body，but makes her abandon her will of being a free person so as to set off the freedom of male.

Such mentality of male writers can be manifested in the female image in their works.In Cao Yu’s mind，he still has his subjective wish towards female.He hopes to realize his definition of beautiful life by creating a nice woman depicted in his fantasy.The expectation and fantasy of female give rise to the image of“angel”in literary works.They are beautiful and sexy，while weak and repressed.

In the works of new literary，the first appearance of“new female”characters tend to possess this feature.Almost all important female characters are praised to some extent whatever the taste and style of the writers.

However，what is the fate of these female？Can they get rid of the suppression of the society or the torture of love？Both society and love are dominated by male，which means that male have authoritative right of speech to make rules and manipulate love，while female are regarded as a “sacrifice”to love and life in literary works.When male are satisfied with the aesthetic and spiritual sacrifice of female，they praise female with the name of being“beautiful and gentle”，and send them to meet their doom.The image of“angels”reflects perfect appearance and gentle personality or advanced ideology，which is a symbol out of the desire of male and by essence，the standard female in males’dream.

Ⅲ.Blame and fear of the female—insaneness of crazy women

Cao Yu writes that“a desire is burning insider her…passion and power are swirling in her heart…”when depicting her first appearance，which reflects that he loves and fears such a woman.He needs a beautiful angel to meet his desire and imagination，but at the same time，he wants to make her crazy and lead her to ignore ethics and rules.The writer uses his hand to manipulate the character so that he can let off his self-desire.The appearance of Fanyi also implies coldness and darkness，such as the color of her clothes，which pushed the image of Fanyi to another extreme.

Contrary to the image of“angel”，vicious females own sexier appearance and greater seduction.They are greedy and crazy with their strong desire，indicating the sense of contradiction of male towards female.

The sexual liberation of Fanyi is the boldest manifestation of her“devilism”.Like all“new people”of the May 4th Movement，she is brave to pursue love and break through the shackle of“sex”.

Such crazy outlet and desire for sex express an inherent“original sin consciousness”.The appearance of the image of“crazy women”is actually male’s resentment and fear of female，which can be originated from “original sin consciousness”.Cao Yu expresses his opinion in his creation that sexual relation in marriage is moral，and other sexual behavior is irrational.

When it comes to the creation of female image in terms of literary works，the image of“crazy women”possesses a sense of liberation.It is a sign of ad-vancement in a world controlled by male.Male create“crazy women”and then move and transform them.The lack of subject consciousness of female reflects the limitation of the attempt of female liberation in the backdrop of modernity，which has become an obstacle in reflecting female’s inner world and the reconstruction of female image.

The image of“crazy women”comes from the concept of“sin”in Christ system，which further develops into a fear and blame.Male create craziness，and hope to break away from shackles by it，which reflects a complicated mentality in the process of creation.The tragic feature imposed on female is another factor of the female image’s mirroring male psychology in literary works.

Ⅳ.Creation intention of Cao Yu and the shaping of polarized female image

Cao Yu is always deemed as a“feminine”writer，who creates a lot of vivid female images involved in the development of dramatic contradictions and the evolvement of stories.Many of his characters，including Fanyi，Chen Bailu，Hua Jinzi，Rui Yu and Wang Zhaojun，are key characters with distinctive personality.The creation of these female images possesses the polarized contradiction of“angel”and“crazy women”，which manifests the experiences of the writer.

Cao Yu’s creation and his cognition of the world are closely linked.Taking Thunderstorm as an example，his interpretation of social disaster，damage and suppression all belong to“natural rules”.The story develops against the backdrop of heavy storm and ends up with a tragedy caused by the storm，which shows the helplessness and sadness of human when confronted with nature and fate.The female images created by Cao Yu also demonstrates his reflection on himself and the world，which is not due to the perspective of caring for women but the difference between creation subject and object，especially the creation mentality caused by gender difference.Cao Yu tries to visualize his inner struggle，obedience，rebellion and fight by creating various images of female.

It can be seen from the interpretation of the image of Fanyi that Cao Yu attempts to dissemble her inner structure when creating her，with the purpose of criticizing old matters by the rebellious personality of Fanyi.At the same time，the decoction of her mildness dissolves some struggling spirit to some extent.The expression of contradiction by means of a female image is a universal psychological problem.In creation psychology，people and matters different from oneself are often used to implicitly show one’s psychology，or the“psychological sketch”is formed unconsciously.The“difference”can be manifested in many aspects，and the most important strategy is to show one’s inner world by different genders by depicting another“me”with the opposite gender to express“my”ideas and do what“I”want to do.

The contradictive image of female in new literary works shows the nature of“l(fā)iberation”，which still serves for the right of speech and sign system of male.The polarized fantasy of female is actually a variation of the motif of writing.Male dominate writing in a long run and therefore，they tend to confirm themselves in their writing.As a result，they create two types of female image.Female are suppressed in a long run，and their motif still lingers over“seeking oneself”.

Ⅴ.Conclusion

Thus we have dug out a plight of female image in male’s writing，namely being caught in a polarized contradiction.All in all，it is a polarized gender shape with the addition of creation intention.Therefore，the imagination of female has naturally become stereotyped.The contradiction is comprised of two parts.First，originally speaking，the contradiction comes from the fantasy of male and the expression of creation motive，from the authority of male bestowed by both Chinese and western religious tradition and the suppression of female，from the worship and fear towards female in the mind of male in terms of gender structure as well as from the deeply-rooted male system；second，by exposing the contradiction of female in the male’s writing and reflecting on the phenomenon that female has become the “spokesperson”of male writers，we have gained more profound thinking on the attention to female and the female image in literary works，which is like a ray of sunlight projecting in the haze of the rule of male.Besides，the contradiction and problem have also put forward new requirement for female，including their consciousness and their inspection on their body and mind.In one word，contradiction is the driving force of development，and female who struggle in the writing of male writers makes us think about the gender reality and process and let us know that the road of female liberation is long and tortuous.However，we should have faith in the bright future of it and make arduous efforts to achieve this goal.

Notes：

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