TheContrastbetweenTheGirlontheTrainandTheWomenontheBreadfruit

張明威 畢鐸 黃思聰

【Abstract】Love is an eternal theme of literature which plays a vital role in people's life. With cultural exchanges，the acceleration of globalization，and cultural integration， Chinese and Westerns view of love have influenced each other. There is no doubt that literature is the mirror of the culture. By comparing Western and Chinese literature together， people could learn more about the differences between the two different lifestyles and cultural values. From the angle of culture， this thesis will look at how the characters fates are mainly influenced by their attitudes towards material life， different sexual understanding and the way they view themselves.

【Key words】Female image； literature； culture

1. Attitude towards material life

Roles in these books indicate the difference from diverse cultural backgrounds through their view of material life when connected with the love. British women regard love as something “beyond material and separated from career they hold or the background” （“The Comparison”， Yu）. That means even though sometimes they want material enjoyment， but consider it not as things bound to love， which is on the mental level in their minds. Then it may be understandable for people about Rachels knowing not the truth about background of her husband Tom. She was told only by him about the not-so-good relationship between him and his parents， as well as the lack of support from them. She has never cared about that since she has her love is not connected to Toms background， which in sharp contrast with Zhu Dizhi.

On the contrary， characters in The Women on the Breadfruit show their pursuit of the coexistence of love and materials. That pursuit is featured by oriental culture today. Love is always shaped as purity and innocence， which is insulated with money or other materialistic factors in Chinese culture. According to Yus research on Chinese literature after 1990s， more than 60% of them are about this “typical Chinese love” （“Comparison”， Yu）. However， love now is not as it was decades ago when the country has opened its gate to the whole world. The traditional love remains the core of romance with a cover dyed with western color： girls are dreaming of the embrace from both a romantic partner and wealthy life， and then the best solution is to marry a rich and considerate husband. One cannot just define that method western over the special connection between these two elements which usually treated separately in west.

In the book， this modern love view is mainly expressed by Zhu Dizhi， Shen Guanghui and Cheng Yun. Strongly or weakly， their tracks are curled by that. Shen indicates the close connection between love and material life with much more clearance and directness， since the first purchaser of her was just rejected for his poor family ground Zhu also keeps chasing her dream as lovers of those people belong to higher class， within enthusiasm to romance simultaneously. Through these three characters， people are provided with a clear perspective to recognize the Chinese culture behind the story.

2. Sexual understanding

Under the influence of culture and background， different sexual understanding among the female characters in these two books is totally exposed， which leads to a perfect love or a love tragedy and then causes their different fates in some degree.Female characters in The Women on the Breadfruit who are conservative and implicit towards sex and lack enough understanding about sexual behavior represent the influence brought by Chinese traditional culture. Bryan Strong and Christine De Vault consider that culture and sex are closely related throughout their narration： Among the variety of factors that shape how we feel and behave sexually， culture is the most powerful. All cultures have rules governing sexuality. These rules and beliefs may vary significantly from culture to culture. A brief exploration of sexual themes across cultures and times will give you a sense of the diverse shapes and meanings human beings have given to sexuality. （Bryan 23） Chinese traditional culture was deeply influenced by Confucianism which was considered as the orthodox culture in the history of China and really played a vital role in civilizing people. However， some cliches called “three principles and five virtues” and “three obediences and four virtues” restricted peoples emotion， especially for women. In such social situation women who were profligate and had sexual behavior before marriage was bound to face harsh punishment even death penalty. Nowadays this effect still exists. In The Women on the Breadfruit， before encountering Lin Fang Wen， Cheng Yun refuses sexual behavior and firmly believes that “ the first time” is the most precious thing and should be left to his future husband.

For another， females in The Girl on the Train are quite different. They advocate sex； they are willing to express love through sexual behavior and consider it as a necessary way to maintain love， which is the product of western culture. Relatively speaking， the development of feminism in western countries was earlier than that in the eastern world. As early as renaissance， feminism began to emerge. Later， Industrial Revolution and great progress made in capitalist industry further emancipated western womans mind. According to Lillian Rubin， she discussed his point of view towards women that women were traditionally labeled “good” or “bad” based on their sexual experience and values. “Good” women were “virgin”， “sexually naive”， or “passive”， whereas “bad” women were sexually experienced， independent， and passionate. However， this attitude has changed （26）.

All the three heroines seem to have a much more open-minded understanding of sex compared with the women in the other book. Megan doesnt love his husband so she gains the satisfaction of love by having sex with several men. Although such sluttish behavior still cannot be accepted by modern society and even brings her fatal disaster， it can still be considered as a bold attempt to pursue love.

3. The way they view themselves

The distinctive concepts of female in Chinese and western culture have an effect on the psychology development of the characters and influence their life choice in certain ways. There is no denying that Chinese women and Western women have many distinctive features in many aspects， especially the way they handle the relationship with man. In The Girl on the Breadfruit， Cheng Yun endured a lot in the relationship with Lin Fangwen who kept hurting her. She fought for her love whenever she felt hopeless and despair. Although Lin Fangwen had a secret relationship with Le JI， she still tried hard to endure the betray. On the contrary， the Western culture encourages women to take a collectivistic approach. （Miller， 19） The character Megan in The Girl on the Train was not able to satisfy with the life that she cannot do anything but waiting for her husband. She felt her identity was weakened and desired to be prior in a relationship. She said， “If he thinks Im going to sit around crying over him， hes got another think coming. I can live without him， I can do without him just fine—but I dont like to lose. Its not like me. ”（Paula 36） Meanwhile， Anna was also betrayal in marriage， but she did not be ashamed because of her capacity as a third party， she was proud of her irresistible charm. She even said “I enjoy it， I love it. In fact， I never felt guilty.”（Paula 132）Chinese women are tolerant and they usually have a strong mind in settling the difficulties during hardship. The tradition of Chinese culture has a strong influence in Chinese women mind. According to Confucius， relationships among family members must follow a hierarchy of status according to generation， age， and gender. The elder family members hold a higher position than do younger members and men are absolutely superior to women. （Baker， 1979）. In comparing with Chinese women， western women make fewer sacrifices for the family. If they love somebody or not satisfied with the present life， they cannot accept strong points and weakness. Higher divorce rate is a good demonstration.

Through the comparative analysis of how the characters fate are mainly influenced by their attitudes towards money， different sexual understanding， and the way they view themselves， the Chinese and Western cultural differences can be seen clearly and thoroughly. Westerners uphold love， in addition to the religion which “sex” is curbed to restrain. But in China， love has very complex psychological factors.With the rapid development of the world， the way that women treat their life and themselves has changed a lot. However， the important role that literature played in our life and the function of social promotion of it will never end.

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