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Assignment: Reflect on the verse 'Painful for the fate of women, Saying that destiny is also a common word'
Response:
Sample piece number 1:
' Her body akin to peach blossom silk
Gracefully swaying amidst the market, whose hands will she fall into'
That folk verse rises like a lament, a sigh of a woman in the feudal society of the time. A society where their fate is determined through exchanges, transactions, through political marriages rather than love. A society where their dignity is trampled in the mud. Understanding the pain of those women, poet Nguyen Du penned the ancient masterpiece 'The Tale of Kieu.' And within that work, the author also uttered two verses which even today, retain their value when recalling the fate of women before the feudal rites:
' Painful is the fate of women
Words that destiny is also a common phrase'.
'The fate of women,' which Nguyễn Du sorrowfully laments as 'cursed beings,' must endure both physical and spiritual torment, trampled dignity, character depreciation, being regarded as cheap goods. Perhaps understanding this, Nguyễn Du could condense all his heartfelt feelings into such poignant verses! Women in feudal society are devalued to the extent that they are treated like commodities. Perhaps understood this, Nguyễn Du was able to encapsulate all his emotions into just two verses! Women in feudal society are devalued to the extent that they are treated like commodities, bought and sold, exchanged, and given as gifts to others.
'My body is like delicate silk,
Fluttering in the market, whose hands will it end up in?'
They have absolutely no right to speak up, to express their sorrows. Just like Đạm Tiên, whom Nguyễn Du portrays, she was born into poverty, forced to sell herself, her art to support herself. Yet when she dies, only the green grass is her companion, no one comes to mourn or pity her, despite how many butterflies once fluttered around her:
'Living as a wife for everyone
Until plunging down to become a husbandless ghost'
No one cares anymore, there's no pity for that woman. Even like Kiều in 'The Tale of Kiều' by Nguyễn Du, a woman of complete talent and beauty, yet she's just a commodity in the hands of those who trade in powder and scent:
'The bird's price drops by two
Hours pass, the gold price exceeds four hundred'
It was the feudal society that pushed Kiều, forcing her to sell herself to save her old father and younger brother. If that society valued women, valued human beings, then perhaps Kiều wouldn't have spent fifteen years wandering everywhere, becoming a commodity in the hands of so many, to the extent of seeking death. And surely she would have found true love with the noble and gentle Kim Trọng.
Perhaps Nguyễn Du's sympathy for women doesn't stop there; he also empathizes with the weak, unfortunate fates of women in marriage and love. In the old society, endless wars broke out, causing husbands and lovers to leave home, leaving their wives lonely for years. The unjust wars in that feudal society robbed the happiness, the love of many faithful wives. We know of a gentle, virtuous, beautiful Vũ Nương, but after the war, she became the unhappiest wife in the world when her husband suspected her of infidelity. And then, she had to use her death to cleanse her innocence. If there were no wars, would the fate of Vũ Nương and other women in the feudal society be so tragic? Not only Vũ Nương, we also see the image of military wives eagerly waiting for news of their husbands returning from the battlefield. These images, 'tears stain the pillow, the heart aches silently,'... pierce our hearts with the sorrowful fate of wives separated from their husbands. Society robbed them of their happiness, robbed them of their love, turning them into 'waiting specters' for their husbands.
We all seek happiness, seek a life of freedom in love, freedom in marriage. However, in the past society, marriage, love weren't decided by women. They had to follow customs, obey their parents, adhere to 'môn đăng hộ đối'. Those rigid laws killed many beautiful loves, took away the happiness of women of the past. For them, their own marriage but they couldn't decide, everything was determined by 'fate', by customs, by tradition. Isn't that a great sorrow?
Perhaps after years of hardships, living among the lowest classes outside society, being exposed to, seeing, hearing stories about women, Nguyễn Du could truly understand women to such an extent. He felt the pain of the humble fate, the 'three sinking, seven floating' of women. They suffered injustice in equal treatment, were deprived of happiness, love, deprived even of the basic need for love and happiness. All because of the rigid customs of contemporary society. Through two verses of Nguyễn Du's poetry, we also see his deep sympathy for women of the past, how much he understood them! Otherwise, how could he write such concise, poignant, loving lines?
Living in today's society, we - women have been able to live true to ourselves. We are treated equally, free to love, free to seek happiness for ourselves. However, somewhere, we still witness images of women being subjected to violence, being scorned, being abused, being deprived of the most basic rights of a human being. Those actions need to be condemned, need to be convicted and stopped.
Through two concise verses, Nguyễn Du also made us deeply feel the fate of women in the old society. It's also a condemnation of feudal society when that society indirectly pushed women to the extreme of pain, despair. Through that, we also feel the love that Nguyễn Du had for them - weak women, needing to be nurtured, needing to be loved and protected.
Sample Article 2:
Nguyễn Du crafted the Tale of Kiều with a sincere heart towards humanity, especially deep empathy for the fate of women. Through the character Thúy Kiều, Nguyễn Du depicted the image of women in the old society enduring injustice, suffering, and hardship. Two verses he wrote about women still echo the universal pain: 'Pity the fate of women
Said the white destiny, a shared lament'.
Feudal society squeezed the life, talent, and beauty of countless women. A society that 'values men, disparages women', where a man has multiple concubines, while a virtuous woman has one husband. They deserve to receive all care, love, and protection, but in the end, they fall into tragedy, enduring the fate of shared husbands.
The unpredictable fate, the precariousness of a woman's life made Nguyễn Du utter the words 'painful' to the point of heartbreak. It was a talented, flawless Đạm Tiên, yet her fate was so full of pain, loneliness even in death: 'Living as a wife for everyone. Falling down to become a lonely ghost without a husband.' A Kiều with beauty that rivals the flowers, the snow, with comprehensive talents in music, chess, poetry, and painting. She deserved to be cherished and loved, yet her fate endured much injustice, fifteen years of wandering, countless misfortunes, despite the hope of a happy union but it wasn't perfect. An intelligent Hoạn Thư couldn't even win the love of her own husband. A graceful Vũ Thị Thiết, virtuous, loving her husband and children deeply, ultimately chose death to cleanse her own injustice. And countless others suffered similar miseries, humiliations. They were the victims of a harsh, unjust, cruel feudal regime.
Women deprived of freedom, unable to voice their desires. They are restrained, trampled upon their dignity, yet they endure. As Hồ Xuân Hương once wrote:
“My body once white, my fate round
Seven floating, three sinking in many waters
Worm-infested even though squeezed by hands
But I still keep a heart of gold”
Their fate may be bleak, but they still hold onto the noble qualities of women. Their talented lives are fated, controlled, and dependent on the ruthless. They are not allowed to be themselves, their fate like a drifting gourd:
“My body like a drifting gourd
The wind and waves know not where to push.”
Through two verses, Nguyễn Du not only condemns the cruel, ruthless, unjust feudal society, trampling on the right to life, the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom of individuals. But through that, he expresses sincere sympathy for those who are struggling, a voice of accusation, a cry full of pity for that society. It's a wake-up call to the conscience of the old regime, urging to cherish and love women.
Our country is developing more and more, gender equality is also improving. But somewhere, there still exist backward customs, oppressing the lives of women. Somewhere, there are still cases of families destroying pregnancies just to have sons. We need to condemn such actions. Let's respect and elevate women because they have suffered a lot from birth. Let's love all the grandmothers, mothers, sisters, daughters in this world.
