The Predicament of Chinese Women in The Early 20th Century from The Perspective of Feminism —— Take Cao Yu's Thunderstorm and Sunrise as Examples

Abstract

The background of this study is the dilemma faced by women and the development of feminism in China in the early 20th century. This study is mainly based on the playwright Cao Yu's two early 20th century drama works Sunrise and Thunderstorm as research materials, and from the character image, language characteristics, and other aspects of specific analysis. This study uses text analysis to analyze the writer Cao Yu's concept of women, the representative characters of Chen Bailu, Fanyi, and Shiping in the materials, and the characters' dialogue language characteristics. It is concluded that the predicament of Chinese women in the early 20th century is due to the conflict between the backward ideas of male superiority and female inferiority in the feudal patriarchal society and the emerging Western ideas of equality and freedom. During this period, feminism had a budding trend, but it was not systematic and thorough. Under the long-term rule of patriarchy, women's awakening consciousness has just begun, and everything is in a difficult stage of initiation and exploration. From this, it is concluded that Chinese feminism was oppressed by many parties in the early 20th century, but it was difficult to germinate.