Jan Haicksz Steen （1626-1679）, a Dutch actor, poet and painter, engaged the viewer with various innuendos and double entendres in his paintings about Woman at Her Toilet. Decoding the conceits introduces the viewer ...Jan Haicksz Steen （1626-1679）, a Dutch actor, poet and painter, engaged the viewer with various innuendos and double entendres in his paintings about Woman at Her Toilet. Decoding the conceits introduces the viewer to Dutch artistic astuteness and popular culture. Steen drew the observer into his picture plane through a series of emblematic vignettes. Although he raised questions about cultural mores, morality, and religiosity, none are judgmental. On the contrary, it is the viewer who might or might not articulate a moral judgment according to personal experiences. For Steen, the imagery, filled with complex conceits, is an artistic visual representation to delight the eyes, tantalize the senses, and maybe even spark the intellect.展开更多
The Awakening was Kate Chopin＇s masterpiece, describing a wealthy businessman＇s wife--Edna＇s confusion, awakening, pursuit, and suffocation of self-awareness in the South of America in the late 19th century. With t...The Awakening was Kate Chopin＇s masterpiece, describing a wealthy businessman＇s wife--Edna＇s confusion, awakening, pursuit, and suffocation of self-awareness in the South of America in the late 19th century. With the method of close reading in new criticism, this paper reinterprets Edna＇s awakening process. Her awakening process is accompanied by the symbolic image of ＂bird＂, representing women＇s situation in the patriarchal society and carrying Edna＇s hope for freedom, love, and self-realization. The application of bird＇s symbolic image reflects Kate Chopin＇s compassion for women in the patriarchal society, making the novel more appealing with its profound humanitarian connotations.展开更多
文摘Jan Haicksz Steen （1626-1679）, a Dutch actor, poet and painter, engaged the viewer with various innuendos and double entendres in his paintings about Woman at Her Toilet. Decoding the conceits introduces the viewer to Dutch artistic astuteness and popular culture. Steen drew the observer into his picture plane through a series of emblematic vignettes. Although he raised questions about cultural mores, morality, and religiosity, none are judgmental. On the contrary, it is the viewer who might or might not articulate a moral judgment according to personal experiences. For Steen, the imagery, filled with complex conceits, is an artistic visual representation to delight the eyes, tantalize the senses, and maybe even spark the intellect.
文摘The Awakening was Kate Chopin＇s masterpiece, describing a wealthy businessman＇s wife--Edna＇s confusion, awakening, pursuit, and suffocation of self-awareness in the South of America in the late 19th century. With the method of close reading in new criticism, this paper reinterprets Edna＇s awakening process. Her awakening process is accompanied by the symbolic image of ＂bird＂, representing women＇s situation in the patriarchal society and carrying Edna＇s hope for freedom, love, and self-realization. The application of bird＇s symbolic image reflects Kate Chopin＇s compassion for women in the patriarchal society, making the novel more appealing with its profound humanitarian connotations.
