Top 14 Summaries of the Work 'The Couple A Phủ' by Tô Hoài

Mị, a free-spirited and beautiful girl with many talents, is pursued by many suitors. One night, thinking it was her lover, Mị reaches out her hand only to be captured by A Sử - the son of the district chief Pá Tra. The next day, Mị is presented as the daughter-in-law of the district chief to repay the debt her parents owed from long ago. Initially distraught, Mị contemplates suicide but is stopped by her father's words and the thought of his plight. She decides to return and fulfill her duty as a daughter-in-law to clear the debt.

Day after day, Mị moves sluggishly like a turtle in its shell, repeating the same tasks mechanically, her emotions dulled. On New Year's Day, Mị secretly drinks wine, and in her drunkenness, the sound of a kite flute transports her back to happier days, reigniting old memories. Determined to go out and enjoy herself, Mị is prevented and bound by A Sử. That night, still in a drunken stupor, Mị feels pain and fear upon awakening.

A Sử is beaten by A Phủ, and Mị is freed to gather medicine for her husband. Despite caring for A Sử, she is also subjected to his abuse. Hearing about A Phủ's beating and subsequent forced labor, Mị witnesses his tears and is moved with compassion, freeing him from his bonds, and together they flee to Phiềng Sa.

Long ago, Mị's father borrowed money from the Thống Lý Pá Tra family to marry her mother. After her mother's death, Mị's father, now old, still owed an annual interest of one bushel of corn. One New Year's Eve in Hồng Ngài, A Sử, Thống Lý Pá Tra's son, deceived and abducted Mị to be his wife for ancestral worship. Mị became a daughter-in-law to pay off the debt. More wretched than an ox or horse, she lived like a turtle in a hole. Mị contemplated suicide but couldn't bear to leave her elderly father. Enduring in misery, Mị grew accustomed to it. Another New Year's came, and Mị felt a glimmer of hope. She drank bowl after bowl of wine, preparing to dress up and go out. However, A Sử tied Mị to a post with a rope.

A Phủ, for assaulting a magistrate's son, was fined one hundred silver coins. Unable to pay, he became a slave to the Pá Tra family to offset the debt. Negligence caused him to lose a buffalo, and he was tied to a stake by a coil of rope, awaiting death. Mị cut his bonds, saving A Phủ. They fled to Phiềng Sa together.

On Phiềng Sa, they became husband and wife, striving to build a new life. When French troops arrived, the people of Phiềng Sa panicked. A Châu, a party official, came to them. A Phủ swore brotherhood with A Châu and became a guerrilla squad leader, defending their homeland alongside Mị and their comrades.

The tale of A Phủ couple depicts the life of a H'Mong husband and wife in the Northwestern region. Mị, a beautiful girl with flute-playing talent, had admirers. Despite her father's large debt to Thống Lý Pá Tra, he couldn't repay it and had to pay annual interest of a bushel of corn. Mị adamantly refused to marry A Sử, Pá Tra's son, to clear the debt. But one spring night, A Sử tricked and abducted Mị for ancestral worship. Despite being called A Sử's wife, Mị was treated miserably.

Initially, Mị contemplated suicide but endured silently, 'retreating like a turtle raised in a hole,' out of compassion for her father.

When New Year came again, Mị secretly drank alone. Amidst the festive atmosphere, especially the flute calling her lover, Mị recalled past days, igniting her longing for love and happiness. Planning to change clothes and go out, Mị was tied to a house post by A Sử with a bucket of ropes, even her hair. In a dazed stupor, Mị continued her reverie. Only when she attempted to step out did she realize her whole body was tightly bound, causing excruciating pain.

That same night, A Phủ, an orphaned but robust and courageous youth, fought A Sử due to his outrage at his antics. A Phủ was captured by the village and became a resident in Pá Tra's house to offset the debt.

In a harsh winter of hunger and wild beasts raiding fields, A Phủ, engrossed in setting traps, lost a buffalo to a tiger. Pá Tra tied him to a pole, awaiting the tiger's shot.

At that moment, although Mị had become utterly indifferent, upon seeing A Phủ's silent tears of exhaustion and despair, she felt compassion for him in the same plight. After some thought, Mị cut the ropes for A Phủ. Then, she ran after him.

Both fled to Phiềng Sa, becoming husband and wife. As French troops poured in, villagers panicked. A Châu, a party official, came to build the movement and swore brotherhood with A Phủ. A Phủ became a guerrilla squad leader, actively joining the fight against the French and their lackeys to defend their homeland alongside Mị and their comrades.

The story of A Phủ couple narrates the life of a young beautiful girl named Mị, born into a poor family in Hồng Ngài village. Mị was abducted by A Sử in the village to become a wife and offset the debt to Thống Lí Pá Tra. Mị's life continued with days of poverty and hardship, toiling tirelessly every day regardless of sun or rain, harder than a buffalo or a horse.

During spring, the festive season, Mị drank alcohol, the flute calling her lover made her want to go out, to be free, but A Sử wouldn't allow it, tightly binding Mị in the room. A Sử was beaten for causing trouble with the village boys, and only then was Mị released to fetch medicine and massage oil for her husband. That same night, A Phủ, a strong and hardworking young man but poor and orphaned, due to fighting with A Sử, was sentenced to work for the landlord to pay off his debt. The harsh winter with chilling winds came, hungry forests, and tigers raiding fields, destroying crops and devouring cattle. Once, A Phủ lost a buffalo to a tiger, so he was tied up, starved for several nights, waiting for A Sử to shoot the tiger before being released. One night, Mị woke up to stoke the fire and saw tears on A Phủ's cheeks. Mị empathized with A Phủ's plight, feeling sorry for his fate. Mị cut the rope and fled with A Phủ from Thống Lí Pá Tra's house. They ran away in the night, traversing through forests to reach Phiềng Sa, where they became husband and wife, building a new life. A Phủ joined the revolution, following A Châu and became a guerrilla squad leader. They wielded guns, chased away the enemy, and protected their village.