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ett’s daughter, however, she does not like Bonnie very much either. Naturally, Bonnie is much intimater with her father Rhett. In a word, Scarlet never has the slightest notion with her children. What a failed mother!
According to Woolf, woman is “the angel of the family, she is sympathetic, charming and selfless. The art of torture in the family is her merit. And she sacrifices to other people everyday. ” [17] It suits for Xinbi properly—the traditional Chinese woman, different from the Satan in the family of Scarlet O’Hara, she is a dutiful wife and loving mother. She devotes all herself to her family. Due to the traditional view of “maritage is an undeniable basis of marriage” [18] She tries her best to make the maritage for Runyu and gives all what she can give her—sharp 100 loads of maritage although they are in the hard time of war. Besides Runyu, she treats other children as the same. She is open-minded and never intrudes in her children’s personal affairs.
Dong Xinbi is a typical example of successful traditional Chinese mother: she devotes all herself to her children and her children respect her. While Scarlet is a failed mother compared with Dong Xinbi’s success. She is an individualist who only cares about herself; and she is a materialist at the same time, who cares about how to make money. She is too sharp and easily vexed to win the children’s confirm or affection, and now it is too late for her to look into the deep hearts, worse still, she refuses to do such a tough work.
4.3 Attitude towards friends
Scarlet is a lady of individualist, she never cares what others may comment on her, she only pays attention to herself. And she acts ostentatiously. “She is unsuccessful in every female role and in her relations with other women.” [19] Even her sister Suellen hates her because she seizes her fiancé Frank. Maybe Melanie is her only woman friend besides her mother Ellen and her common Mummy. However, she does not realize it until Melanie passes away.
While Xinbi is a traditional Chinese woman, she believes that unity is the best policy. And she is a tactful and wise woman, although she knows that a lot of people are green eyed with her, she pretends to be completely in the dark of their hostility and is always ready to help them. What is more, she always enjoys a harmonious relationship with her friend. And they help her a lot in the war. Even her counterpart Duyan gives her a hand when she is in trouble. And the servants of her family respect her and help her whenever she is in need of help.
5. Beliefs
As an individualist, Scarlet is irreligious, she only believes herself. Her God is a God of wrath. When Ellen and her family members are preaching piously, she is thinking of how to marry with Ashley secretly. And when she seizes her sister’s husband and marries him, she only thinks that “I really didn’t think about God much more then—or hell. And when I did think – well, I just reckoned God would understand. ” [20] We can even say that Starlet’s God is an absentee God. When Mammy complains that “ ah doan know whut de Lawd thinkin’ ‘bout, lettin’ de bad women flurrish lak dat w’en us good focks is hungry an’ mos’ barefood.” [21] Scarlet only replies coldly: “The Lord stopped thinking about us years ago. And don’t go telling me Mother is turning in her grave to hear me say it, either.” [22]
Being a traditional Chinese woman, Xinbi believes in the religion. Before the wartime, Xinbi is so busy keeping the house that she just respects the Guanyin when it is festivals. For another reason, she knows that madam Xinjin always respect the Buddha for her. However, due to the serious misfortune in the wartime, Xinbi loses herself. She finds nowhere to put her spirit. Gradually, she becomes a total Buddhist at last for the religion is the place for her to place her hopes on.
6. The Processes of maturing
6.1 Before the war
Scarlet, the individualist is quite willful. In her opinion, “a lady’s highest and the only task for her is to show her perfect character of being a woman.” [23] So the only thing for her is to dress up beautifully and looks for an ideal husband. She could never long endure any conversation of which she is not the chief subject, and she hopes that every man pays attention only to her.
Compared with Scarlet’s individuality, Xinbi is full of virtue and duty.
Before the wartime, Xinbi has already been a sagacious and efficient woman: although she has to give birth to children, keep the house, treat all kinds of people… However, she is dependent on Jiren. She never has to care about how to make money; and when something happens, she does not need to deal with it because Jiren will do with it well. She believes that “Ignorance is a woman’s virtue.” (女子无才便是德) and does whatever her husband tells her to do.
Moreover, her obedience to Jiren is somehow crazy. Just because Jiren likes Yi Fengjiao—a prost
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