Abstract：The male consciousness is obviously expressed in Great Expectations. There are two main reasons for Charles Dickens to form this consciousness. On one hand, it is because of the writer himself, including his family background, his religion and many others. On the other hand, in the social background which Dickens was born is Victorian age. Under this social background almost all people are influenced greatly by male consciousness. In this social background with consciousness, men think that women should be gentle, thoughtful, kind, focus on their family and focus on their husbands and their children. In Victorian age, women are in a low social status , and they depend on men and they are even thought as the accessories of men. This paper studies Great Expectations of Charles Dickens and analyze the writer himself, the society in that age, and characters in the novel to tells the male consciousness reflected in the novel to move forward a single step to make out the disadvantages of the male consciousness, especially the disadvantages to married women.  Under the male consciousness women have to live in the way which men want them to live and live to meet the requirements of men. The male consciousness bring some bad influences to women, almost in every aspect in their lives, for example, in the areas of education, power in policy, economy, family morality and many other areas. Men almost give women a pattern, which they prefer women to be and women would follow the pattern, what’s more they are used to meeting the needs of men. In this way, on the basis of analyzing the male consciousness of Charles Dickens in the novel, this paper focus on the disadvantages of male consciousness to women and children, especially the disadvantages to married women. 

Key Words: The male consciousness; Male domination; Female images;  Disadvantages; Pattern

CONTENTS

摘要

Abstract

Introduction-2

1.  The Male Consciousness Formed in Great Expectations-5

1.1 Personal Reasons -5

1.1.1 Family Background-5

1.1.2 Religious Reasons-6

1.2 Social Reasons-7

2. The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected in Great Expectations-9

2.1 The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected By Men-9

2.1.1  The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected by Men -9

2.1.2  The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected by Pip-10

2.2 The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected by female Characters-11

2.2.1 The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected by Miss Havisham-11

2.2.2The Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Reflected by Estella-13

2.3 The Vicious Circle of the Disadvantages of Male Consciousness-14

3.The Main Disadvantages of The Male Consciousness-15

3.1 The Main Disadvantages of Male Consciousness Towards Children-15

3.2 The Main Disadvantages of the male consciousness to women-16

Conclusion-17

References-18