Abstract: Night and Day was Virginia Woolf’s early work which bodied her further understanding of life. Although this novel aroused more criticism than praise, it is still worth being promoted for research. Katharine in Night and Day played two roles in life. During the day, she was subjected to society, yet at night, she focuses on her spiritual needs by learning figures, stars. This paper, through analyzing Katharine’s process of the quest for self-identity, demonstrates how Katharine, as a woman, broke the confinements of her time, made healthy progress through her own efforts and external forces, and eventually realized her self-identity, in the hope that modern females may learn from her to cope with self-identity issues. 

Key words: Self-identity; Night and Day; Katharine

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction of Virginia and Night and Day-1

2. Brief Introduction of Self-identity-2

3. Identity Crisis in Katharine-4

3.1 Conflicts between Marriage and True Love-5

3.2 Conflicts between Reality and Dream-6

4. Katharine’s Struggles for Self-identity-8

4.1 Self-Improvement through Her Own Efforts-8

4.1.1 Empowering Self-identity in Imagination-9

4.1.2 Finding Sanctuary in Silence, Figures and Stars-10

4.2 Gaining Self-identity through External Forces-11

4.2.1 Gaining Self-identity through Ralph’s Love-11

4.2.2 Gaining Self-identity through Integrating into Society-14

5. Causes of Virginia Woolf’s Depiction of Female’s Quest for Self-identity-15

6. Conclusion-17

References-19