Abstract

“Cat in the Rain” , as Hemingway’s early work, mainly reflected the contradiction between man and woman. It depicted a simple plot about an American couple who traveled in Europe. The cat in rain stimulated the wife’s sympathy. However, the husband always held an indifferent attitude. As the rule in the context, the cat goes through the whole story and it revealed the female and ecological consciousness in the male-centralism society. In the whole context, there was an obvious conflict between man and woman. It’s worth mentioning that there was an invisible conflict between nature and civilization. At the beginning of this story, the environment description set up a tone that civilization dominated nature. From the opposition between man and woman, it revealed male suppression of female desires. So it was obvious to detect the female consciousness and from the difference between the wild kitty and the big tortoise-shell cat, we could see the ecological consciousness. So this thesis focused on the two aspects: female sensibility and ecological consciousness. Moreover, from the Eco-feminist perspective, there were similarities and connections between female sensibility and ecological consciousness. Female had a natural affinity for nature and life, but male chose the society and culture, which meant reason and humanity. So in a word, both of female consciousness and ecological consciousness could be ascribe to the contradiction between nature and civilization.

Key words: Eco-feminism; nature, civilization; ecological consciousness; feminist sensibility

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 The present study of “Cat in the Rain”-1

1.2 The history of Eco-feminism-2

1.3 The organization of the thesis-2

2.Social and Culture Background-3

2.1 Social and historical background-3

2.1.1 Ernest Hemingway and his time-3

2.1.2 Social background: women as victims in the male-centralism-4

2.2 From the perspective of Eco-feminism :The connection between women and Nature-4

3. Female Sensibility of “Cat in the Rain”-6

3.1 The relationship between woman and husband-6

3.2 The relationship between woman and landlord-7

4. Ecological Consciousness of “Cat in the Rain”-9

4.1 The effect of the cat in the rain：The connection between female sensibility and ecological consciousness-9

4.2 The Image of Cat: The conflict between the wildcat and the domestic cat-10

4.3 The description of the Environment: The conflict between nature and civilization.-10

5. Conclusion-12

References-13