Contemplating dreams and happiness of Vietnamese women through the essay 'Self-reflection 2'

Prompt: Reflect on the dreams and happiness of Vietnamese women through the essay 'Self-reflection 2'

Explore the outline and sample essay expressing thoughts on the dreams and happiness of Vietnamese women through 'Self-reflection 2.'

I. Outline Reflecting on the dreams and happiness of Vietnamese women through 'Self-reflection 2' (Standard)

1. Introduction

- Brief overview of poet Hồ Xuân Hương and her writing style.
- Introduction to the poem 'Self-reflection 2' with content on the dreams and happiness of Vietnamese women.

2. Body

Analyzing the poem to express thoughts. Presenting a brief understanding of the poem.

a. Opening verses:

- The plight of the young widow, lonely in the silent night, waiting for her husband until boredom sets in.
- Sorrow due to the excessively quiet and desolate night, making people feel pitiful and sad. For Hồ Xuân Hương, it is the desolation of fate as a concubine.
- Reflecting the unfortunate fate and bitterness of women in ancient society.
=> Weeping, pain, and bitterness for the beautiful life, happiness for them becomes a luxury because in this society, there is no happiness for women!

b. Actual verses:

- 'A fragrant wine cup sends one from intoxication to sobriety': The endless cycle, the more Hồ Xuân Hương tries to escape her loneliness and misery, the more she becomes deeply aware of the fleeting and fateful nature of her glamorous life.
- 'The moonlight shadow hasn't faded yet': Reflecting the situation of the young widow about to pass through the prime of her youth, adorned but with love twice eluding her.

c. Conclusive verses:

- Determination, as well as burning desire, to break free from the shackles of the feudal system, demanding justice, and the yearning for happiness of women.
- She does not want to live in the situation of being scorned and looked down upon, does not want to endure the fate of shared husbands, wants to be free to express her personality and enjoy life as the master of her own destiny, not dependent on anyone else.

d. Concluding verses:

- Awareness of the fleeting nature of time, the limited youth of women, if they haven't found true happiness, old age approaching is truly an extremely tedious prospect.
- The happiness of women in the feudal system is not complete, scarce and divided, making them extremely miserable and weary with envy and loneliness.

3. Conclusion

- Expressing personal reflections.

II. Exemplary Essay Reflecting on the dreams and happiness of Vietnamese women through 'Self-reflection 2' (Standard)

In the realm of Vietnamese literature, predominantly occupied by male poets with a vast and diverse array of works, the presence of female voices, though scarce, contributes significantly to the national literary heritage. One notable figure is the poetess Hồ Xuân Hương, hailed as the queen of Nom poetry in medieval literature. Despite her infrequent appearances, Hồ Xuân Hương's sharp and sometimes acerbic pen made profound reflections on life and the beauty of Vietnamese women under the feudal system. Her life, though marked by misfortune despite her talent, especially in the realm of love, provides her with a deep understanding of the dreams and fervent desire for happiness of women, themes she intricately weaves into her works. 'Self-reflection 2' is a prime example of her distinctive style.

It is unknown whether the series of poems in 'Self-reflection' were written during Hồ Xuân Hương's time with Mr. Tổng Cóc or her second marriage to Lord Vĩnh Tường. Regardless of the timing, the poetry reflects the emotions of a widow enduring the fate of a shared husband. Reading 'Self-reflection 2,' one perceives a sharp poetic tone, the unspoken sadness of a woman in a bed devoid of a husband, unaware that her spouse is in another woman's chamber. The loneliness, echoing through the empty shoes, prompts Hồ Xuân Hương to express daring thoughts and bold meanings, seeking an escape from a life of adversity and injustice to find alternative happiness.

The opening lines depict the situation of the widow, alone in the silent night, waiting for her husband until boredom sets in.

'Night echoes with the drum's persistent beat,
Barren beauty against the homeland's backdrop.'

Originally, the time of the 'night' is when people have sunk into a deep sleep to rest after a tiresome day, to nourish the spirit, and it's also when devoted couples whisper deep thoughts. However, for Hồ Xuân Hương, this night is sleepless—partly due to jealousy, partly due to the tragic fate of a life adorned with talent and beauty yet unable to retain a husband by her side. In the empty loneliness, the poet stays awake with the night, a quiet moment where one easily reflects on what has passed, especially self-reflection. The beat of the 'drum's persistent beat' signals the hurried steps of time, time keeps flowing but the eyes of beauty cannot close. The sound of the drum deepens the silence, the vast emptiness, and solitude in the soul of the woman. Particularly, the sorrow for the excessively quiet night makes people feel pitiful and sad. For Hồ Xuân Hương, it is the desolation of fate itself.

'Barren beauty against the homeland's backdrop'

The use of bold and powerful language seems to be a signature in the poet's work, and in this poem, the word 'Barren' makes it sharp and straightforward, portraying desolation, loneliness, and humiliation. Yet, this 'barrenness' also seems to express another quality—resilience, determination, 'unyielding against the lunar calendar,' ready to challenge the world, to challenge the night covering life. The word 'Barren' combined with the phrase 'beauty against the homeland's backdrop' clearly reflects a profound reality of the wretched fate, the smallness of the woman facing a vast feudal society with many rules, a society that oppresses women. They either endure loneliness, desolation, and solitude, or they become tough, as unyielding as stones, bearing the heavy pressures of the system. Here, we also see a clever combination in the phrase 'beauty against the homeland's backdrop.' Traditionally, 'beauty' has always been a term to refer to a beautiful woman, cherished and admired, a quite dignified term. However, Hồ Xuân Hương combines it with the word 'homeland,' which is generally insignificant, as it is used to refer to trivial things. However, when combined into the phrase 'barren beauty,' people also understand the poet's intention that beauty in this era is not worth much, it is scorned and belittled like a decoration that men and the unjust feudal society possess the power to manipulate. She is lamenting, smiling bitterly for the beauty of her life, as well as for many other women out there; happiness becomes a luxury for them because in this society, there is no happiness for women!

Those are two opening lines, and as we delve into the practical aspects, we become even more empathetic to the sadness of the Nom poetess on nights without a pillow, the long, dreary night, a void that not everyone can comprehend.

'The wine cup, its fragrance intoxicating, sends one from drunkenness to sobriety,
The moon's shadow, not yet fully rounded.'

The wine cup, not commonly associated with the fate of a beauty, becomes the best medicine for someone tired and sorrowful, offering a chance to forget the sorrows of married life and the cheapening of feminine beauty. Yet, if only drinking could bring forgetfulness, unfortunately, it 'intoxicates to sobriety,' like an endless loop, just when a bit of forgetfulness is achieved, sobriety returns to face misery and unhappiness. It becomes a mental torment that incessantly returns to torment the soul of the poetess. The line 'The moon's shadow, not yet fully rounded' is a profound realization of the poetess about her life after continuous intoxication. It not only signifies that the night is about to end, and her husband is peacefully asleep somewhere, but it also reflects the reality of the widow who has passed through the prime of her life, charming but with romantic destiny twice missed. Hồ Xuân Hương still cannot find a husband of her own, still cannot spend each night with hands and knees pressed together, whispering literature and emotions, while she bitterly witnesses her husband sharing affection with other women, a situation that she cannot accept. These two lines are a lament about the shared fate of women under the harsh feudal regime, many husbands and many wives, women who have never truly found happiness for themselves despite their efforts and countless desires.

After the bitterness and sorrow in loneliness, the solitary shadow, Hồ Xuân Hương once had breakthrough thoughts, defying fate to seek a happy life in the practical aspects.

'Sideways, moss carpets the ground in clusters,
Piercing the sky, rocks in numerous formations.'

The frustration and anger of the female poetess are expressed forcefully and somewhat sharply through the technique of inversion, where the ordinary images of nature, abundant in the world, now seem to carry a sense of anger, containing the emotions that have been suppressed for so long, similar to the feelings of Hồ Xuân Hương. It can be said that the artistic technique in these two lines is quite similar to Nguyễn Du's depiction of nature in his poem 'People are sad; where is joy ever present?' When a person carries a excited, suppressed, and angry soul, even harmless things become scenes of resistance and opposition in the fiery eyes of the poet. Moss, which is originally a soft and weak entity, tiny and insignificant, similar to the weak and soft feet of a woman, and rocks, traditionally known as rigid, stubborn, and emotionally stable, bring a sense of endurance to the woman under the feudal regime when conveyed through Hồ Xuân Hương's bold and challenging tone. The moss and rocks are ready to break all the constraints and obstacles, to become strong, to enjoy the scene of the land and sky, to escape from the soft, patient layer that has been there for so long. Through the images of moss and rocks, one can clearly see the will, as well as the burning desire to escape from the oppression of the feudal regime, to demand justice, the longing for happiness of the woman. She does not want to live in the situation of being looked down upon, does not want to endure the fate of sharing a husband, wants to be free to express her personality and enjoy life on her own terms without depending on others.

However, no matter how intense the desire, no matter how strong the resistance, unfortunately, Hồ Xuân Hương still cannot escape from the grip of the old society. She is forced to return to the harsh reality, to continue gnawing at the lonely and tedious life, in an unhappy human existence.

'Tired of the cycle of spring coming and going,
Love fragments, shared piece by piece.'