Abstract：Alice Munro, one of the most outstanding short-story writers, is regarded as “Canadian Chekov”. Dance of the Happy Shades, the maiden work and masterpiece of Alice Munro, tells about the tragic life about ordinary females, especially those in small towns. It reflects the brave defense and the feminist awareness of females in the lowest class through exposing the predicaments in daily trifles during their growth. Unluckily, the females in the collection of short stories are unable to eliminate the restrictions of the patriarchal society; however, their brave thoughts and valiant defense have set a good example for contemporary female readers, inspiring them to fight for their own destiny. This thesis aims to interpret the feminist awareness embodied in those stories through studying the experiences of different female characters.

The thesis mainly includes five parts. Chapter one introduces Alice Munro and Dance of the happy shades. Chapter two is about feminism, the social background of Munro’s writing and personal experiences of Alice Munro. Chapter three mainly interprets the dilemmas in females’ self-growth. Chapter four focuses on the awaking of the feminist awareness and how the female characters pursue spiritual independence. And chapter five draws a conclusion of the whole article.

Keywords: Alice Munro  Dance of the Happy Shades  Feminism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Alice Munro-1

1.2 Introduction to Dance of the Happy Shades-2

1.3 Literature Review-3

Chapter Two Feminism and Alice Munro-4

2.1 A Brief Review of Feminism-4

2.2 Social Background of Munro’s Writings-4

2.3 Personal Experiences-5

Chapter Three The Dilemmas in Females’ Self-growth-7

3.1Patriarchal Domination in the Society-7

3.2Restrictions from Matriarchal Group-8

3.3Pressures from Conventional thoughts and Public Opinions-9

Chapter Four The Awaking of Feminist Awareness-11

4.1 Searching for Equality and Freedom-11

4.2 Searching for Love and Marriage-12

4.3 Searching for Independence-13

Chapter Five Conclusion-14

References-15