本篇論文主要是比較凱特．蕭邦的《覺醒》與愛麗絲．沃克的《紫色姐妹花》。 本論文除了分析二位作者的文化和社會背景如何影響她們的作品，也同時探討蕭邦和沃克如何在她們的作品中融入自身的經驗與傳達女性做為自由且獨立主體的觀念。 論文第一章處理二位作家對「壓迫」一詞的觀點與定義並探討兩人之間的相似和相異處。 第二章分別從社會和文化的觀點比較二位作家筆下的女主角：愛徳娜和希麗 (Edna and Celie)。 就某方面來說，二位女主角皆被她們所處的社會所壓迫。 第三章對照二位女主角如何逃離或克服外在的險惡環境且獲得並保有自我。 在經歷一連串的事件後，愛德娜為了保有自我而結束了自己的性命。 而希麗卻和她的大家庭過著快樂的生活。 這二位女主角都曾為獲得自我而做過許許多多的努力，為何她們努力後的結果卻是如此的不同呢？ 分析此不同是第三章的重點之一。 本篇論文的結論為從希麗的例子，我們也許可以求得一個可能解決愛徳娜困境的方法。 如果一個女性要擁有獨立自我，她必須和男性還有其它女性合作。 除此之外，不管是男性或女性都該具有並實行中性人格的概念 (the concept of androgyny)。 唯有如此，男女之間才有可能平等的可能，彼此的關係才有和諧的可能。 This study focuses on two female writers of different races and backgrounds: Kate Chopin and Alice Walker. This thesis compares and contrasts Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple by examining their different narratives and analyzing how the two authors’ social and cultural contexts influence their texts. The thesis also examines how the authors transfer their personal experiences to their texts, using the latter to convey their perspectives on women as self-reliant subjects. The thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One deals with Kate Chopin’s and Alice Walker’s definitions of ‘oppression’ and the similarities and dissimilarities between these two feminists’ points of view, and then uses the texts to support my argument. Chapter Two compares the two heroines from social and cultural perspectives: to some extent, both heroines are oppressed by their societies. The last chapter contrasts the heroines’ emancipations from bonds and how they maintain their selfhood at the end of the novels. After a series of efforts, Edna ends with committing suicide whereas Celie leads a happy life with a big family. Why do our protagonists have two different outcomes? To analyze the difference of Edna’s and Celie’s fates is also my focus in the last chapter. Celie’s case offers a possible solution for Edna and other women in Edna’s situation. If she would like to assert her autonomy, a woman needs to cooperate with men and other women. Besides, both men and women should understand and accept the concept of androgyny—the blending of traditional male and female characteristics, and then put it into practice in order to achieve the equality of the two sexes and a harmonious relationship.
