Susan’s Search for Sense of Self

張貼日期：Dec 03, 2010 12:45:19 PM

Susan’s Search for Sense of Self

Xiao-Chi Chen 陳曉諆

Advisors: Dr. Li-Wen Chang 張禮文教授

Dr. Hsian-li Chou 周先俐教授

Abstract

“To Room Nineteen” talks about how Susan, the heroine who has an ideal family, is bothered by an unknown question. She starts to find a solution, and through her psychological voyage, she gets to know that the only thing she wants for her life is a space of her own. The purpose of this paper is then to analyze Susan’s psychology by the study of her search for the self. To analyze Susan’s voyage into her self-identity, I divide my paper into two parts. One is space; the other is male gaze. I will introduce how women felt about their self-identity in the mid 20th century England. Doris Lessing’s thought will be introduced briefly. I will also discuss how Susan and Matthew make the right decision by intelligence and how their marriage is also grounded by intelligence. In the patriarchal society, space is controlled, and women have no rights to choose their own spaces. From male gaze, women’s physical space is limited. Susan’s search for herself makes her painful because of the society’s compulsory power. The men’s expectations for women overwhelm Susan. Susan’s death might be a symbol of her escape from the constrained world.

Key words: Patriarchy, intelligence, physical space, psychic space, male gaze, self-identity