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x to readers. However, another two words “his” (Book I, line 41) and“mother” (Book II, line 381) respectively appear once in the poem to address the speaker.Evidently, “his” and “mother” represent two different types of sex. Seen from this point ofview, the speaker has dual identities. Actually, the speaker’s dual identities are a youngerson and Charlotte Smith’s self-portrait.When the adjectival possessive pronoun “his” appears in the poem, the speaker is amale who charges Britain with its false equal law. Patriarchal personages benefit a greatdeal from British legal system. Therefore, it is almost impossible for patriarchalpersonages to claim that British equal law is a “vain boast” (Book I, line 37). Besides,Fletcher (2001) notes that Charlotte Smith in her novels poignantly criticizes Britishprimogeniture which enables elder sons to have unjust claims. When the speaker’saccusation of British legal system and Charlotte Smith’s accusation of primogeniture aretaken into consideration, it can be deduced that the speaker is not a British patriarchalpersonage, but a younger son.
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Conclusion

The Emigrants vividly creates two types of marginal persons: French emigrants andspeaker “I”. After the French Revolution, a great number of French aristocrats and clergiesexile to Britain, and turn into marginal persons in cultural crevices. Similar with theFrench emigrants, speaker “I” is also stuck in marginal situations. Sometimes, the speakeris a younger son, while the other times, it is a female bearing domestic violence. No matterwho he or she is, he/she is stuck in the patriarchal oppressive state at the end of theturbulent 18th century, bitterly suffering the taste of loneliness and melancholy. By vividlyillustrating the living situations and selections of self-redemption directions of these twogroups, Charlotte Smith reveals the marginal situations of the non-dominant group andwrites her mediations on the fate of marginal persons in the late 18th century Britain.In the light of Weisberger’s Marginal Man Theory, the thesis explores the livingsituation and fate of French emigrants in cultural crevices, and younger sons and femalesoutside British dominant group, by illustrating the marginality representations of thesemarginal persons and their redemption directions.The thesis first illustrates the marginality representations of French emigrants andtheir redemption directions. After the French Revolution, a large number of Frenchclergies and aristocrats exile to Britain, and turn into marginal persons in cultural crevices.These French emigrants were previously privileged classes accustomed to luxurious lifeand supreme power, which are deprived of after the French Revolution. Their living stateis characterized by bi-directional oppression from Britain and France, which brings abouttheir strong national consciousness. Meanwhile, they cannot accept the dramaticvicissitudes happening to them, which brings about their sensitiveness and melancholy. Inorder to solve the marginal situations and achieve redemption, they try to get their poisethrough immersing in previous memories and return to France to achieve self-redemption.
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