Abstract：Elizabeth Gaskell is a celebrated novelist in the 19th century in England. As one of the greatest critical realistic representatives, she uniquely stood out as a prominent women writer. North and South is one of Gaskell’s social problem novels which vividly depicted the English society during the Victorian Era. Despite the profound effects the novel has in evoking people’s thoughts about the then English society, Gaskell also successfully portrayed a group of characters which demonstrate both her thoughts and her skillful writing techniques.
In the novel, Gaskell created an almighty heroine - Margaret Hale. As the leading character of the novel, she is cast in a role seldom assigned to women of the period. Compared with her cousin Edith in appearance, she appears quite mature and strong; as the daughter of her parents and sister of her older brother, she does more than what a young girl of her age can do; facing the seemingly very ideal suitors, she dares refuse them since she won’t play false with her own feelings; a Victorian lady, she prefers to step out of the house and integrate herself into the society by frequently participating in local affairs. In short, in Gaskell’s successful characterization of Margaret Hale, readers can see a maturing girl full of fortitude, uprightness, bravery and social awareness.
Different from most studies which focus on the study of the themes, this thesis mainly dwells on the study of the characterization of the heroine – Margaret Hale. It tries to analyze how Gaskell successfully establishes Margaret Hale as a strong character from the following four aspects: her appearance, behavior, dialogues with others and psychological changes towards the environment. Through a detailed study of the four aspects mentioned above, readers can better their knowledge of the novel, of Mrs. Gaskell and of even the then English society.
Keywords: characterization, Margaret Hale, North and South.
摘要：伊莉莎白·盖斯凯尔是英国19世纪著名的小说家。作为批判现实主义文学的杰出代表，她因其女性身份显得犹为引人注目。《北方与南方》是其工业题材小说之一。在这部小说中，盖斯盖尔形象生动地描绘了维多利亚时期的英国社会。
在这部小说中，玛格丽特被塑造成为一个“全能”女主人公。她与当时社会的其他女性截然不同。与其表妹伊迪丝相比，她显得特别成熟、坚强；与同龄女生相比，她为自己的父母和哥哥所作的一切远超常人所想；面对条件优秀的追求者，她遵从自己的心意，敢于将其拒之门外；与维多利亚时期的其他女性不同，她更愿意走向户外，参与到各项社会活动之中。总而言之，坚韧、直率、勇敢都是玛格丽特的特质。 当前大多学者对《北方与南方》的研究都围绕其主旨展开，而本文则针对小说主人公玛格丽特·黑尔的人物塑造展开。本文试图从以下四个方面分析玛格丽特：外貌、行为、与他人的对话、以及环境描写。对以上四个方面进行的详细分析将深化读者对本小说、对盖斯凯尔夫人以及当时英国社会的认识。
关键词：人物塑造、玛格丽特·黑尔、《北方与南方》
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