Middlemarch is a milestone of Eliot's mature works,which depicts a provincial life of avirtual town named Middlemarch in1830s with more than 70 characters in it Leavis callsMiddlemarch as “the only one book to represent her mature genius.” Virginia Woolfmakes- the following comments on Middlemarch:
It is not that her power diminishes, for, to our thinking, it is at its highest in the matureMiddlemarch, the magnificent book which,with all its imperfections, is one of the few Englishnovels written for grown-up people.
The political background of Middlemarch is concerned about the first Reform Bill in1832 of English history. This novel has won critical triumph as well as commercial success,which embodies Eliot's philosophy on life, women, reform and morality,etc. Besides,characters reflect the writer's thinking and passion. As Longinus points out,“The genius ofgreat poets and prose writers, as their passion declines, finds its final expression in thedelineation of character !叫。” So it is with George Eliot in her Middlemarch, Therefore, thefeminine characters in Middlemarch have something to do with George Eliot's outlook onVictorian women. What's more, her personal experience also contributes to the formation ofher distinct feminine views.
In this thesis, researches will concentrate on the feminine protagonists in Middlemarch tohave a relatively deep study of Victorian women and their women questions in the novel fromthe feminine perspective. During the process, the text intends to find out the interrelationshipbetween Eliot's distinct feminine views and her feminine characters. More importantly, thethesis will induce a relatively objective study on Middlemarch and its feminine characterswhen they tackle with their problems so as to find out both progressiveness and limitations ofGeorge Eliot's feminine views.
Next, it is an outline of my paper. In the main part of this paper, I divide it into six parts.
In the first part, the authoress displays the introduction of the thesis including theresearch background, research perspective and aspects as well as the purpose and significanceof the current study.
In the second part, the thesis shall give the definition of women questions and related keyconcepts in Eliot's writings.
In the third and fourth part comes the textual analysis. In the two parts, the text willfocus on Dorothea the protagonist to discuss the typical women questions in family andsociety and to look into how they deal with these questions from the gynocritic perspective.
The fifth part shall be a further exploration on George Eliot's views on women.
In the sixth part, the research shall come to the conclusion of the thesis as well as somesuggestions for further exploration.
OK! That is all. Thank you! Please ask questions.
答辩开场白应包括的内容：
自我介绍：班级、姓名、论文题目
自述报告的内容：
1、自己为什么选择这个课题?
2、研究这个课题的'意义和目的是什么?
3、全文的基本框架、基本结构是如何安排的?
4、全文的各部分之间逻辑关系如何?
5、在研究本课题的过程中，发现了那些不同见解?对这些不同的意见，自己是怎样逐步认识的?又是如何处理的?
6、论文虽未论及，但与其较密切相关的问题还有哪些?
7、还有哪些问题自己还没有搞清楚，在论文中论述得不够透彻?
8、写作论文时立论的主要依据是什么?
对以上问题应仔细想一想，必要时要用笔记整理出来，写成发言提纲，在答辩时用。这样才能做到有备无患，临阵不慌。
