Image of Women in Vietnamese Folk Verses as Seen from Perspectives of Feminism

Abstract

    In the history of humankind, women have been viewed as dependent on men. In Vietnamese feudal society, they constantly played the part of those who should be taken pity of. Regardless of both the position in the society and the right to be, which implies being treated as, a human being, they were not equal to men. Vietnamese folklore, especially Vietnamese ca dao (folk verses), clearly show the poor condition of women in a feudal male-dominated society. At the same time, the verses also reflect their resistance to unequal treatment. This article shows the quest for the right "to be human beings" of rural Vietnamese women in the past, as well as how they "got to be and behaved like human beings" in the context of a male-dominated society.