悍妇与益友——晚明江南妇女的家庭角色新变

明代中叶以后的江南妇女,在家庭生活中表现出愈来愈重要的作用,常常掌握着家中话语权,成为名副其实的"女主人";人们对此褒贬不一,或诋为"悍妇",或赞为"益友",前者是咒骂,后者为爱称,貌似迥异,其实根由一致:即当时江南妇女的社会地位和家庭地位,获得了明显提高;夫妻各自扮演的家庭角色,发生了变化甚至转换;"夫妻益友"的理念,表明晚明时期的江南文人无视男尊女卑的俗套,能够尊重女性、承认和欣赏妻子的才干,这无疑是值得赞赏的。

Ferocious Wife or Good Friend - the New Changes of Women''''s Role in Their Families in the South of Changjiang River in the Late Ming Dynasty

The Chinese women in the south of Changjiang River played a more and more important role in their families after the middle Ming Dynasty.More and more women became the masters who had the last say,which changed the traditional relationship between the husband and wife in China.It caused different reactions.Some men damned it and called such a woman "ferocious wife",but some men appraised it and called her "good friend".They seemed widely different,but they were caused by the same reason.That situation resulted from the heightening of women's social and home position in the south of Changjiang River.The roles of the husband and wife changed or even exchanged with each other.Because of the different understandings,husbands showed different attitudes.The conception that husband and wife were good friends is worth praising,which reflects the times' progress,and it shows that the intellectuals in that area neglected the traditional concept that men are superior to women and they respected,acknowledged and appreciated woman's abilities.