Abstract: Dickens is one of the greatest British critical realistic novelists in the Victorian era.  His works is famous for exposing disadvantages of capitalist society and reflecting the miserable lives of lower class. In Dickens’s Great Expectations, Miss Havisham is depicted as a woman with complex psychology. Based on the feminism theory, this thesis tries to analyze Miss Havisham’s tragic image and the causes of her trgedy in Victorian patriarchal society. 

Keywords: Great Expectations; Miss Havisham; Feminism; Patriarchal society

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

2. The Tragic Image of Miss Havisham.....1

2.1 The Complex Character of Miss Havisham

2.2 The Revenge of Miss Havisham

2.3 The Tragic Ending of Miss Havisham

 3. Causes of Miss Havisham’s Tragic Destiny...5

3.1 The Influence of Social Environment

  3.1.1 The Traditional Morality of Patriarchal Society on Women

3.1.2 The Status of Women in Patriarchal Society

3.1.3 The Values on Money in Victorian Era

3.2 The Influence of Her Family

    3.2.1 The Impact of Single-parent Family           

    3.2.2 The Atmosphere of Her House

4. Conclusion..9

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgements..11