IMAGES OF WOMEN IN VIETNAMESE TYPICAL LITERATURE IN THE PERIOD OF 1945-1975 FROM A GENDER APPROACH

Abstract

Since the 18th century, women have been depicted in Vietnamese literature.
However, strongly influenced by Confucian thought, the image of women did not advance
until the twentieth century. Women’s issues were discussed at that time together with other
societal issues. This paper employs document analysis method, more especially content
analysis, to identify the standout traits of Vietnamese women as they are expressed in popular
prose works from the years 1945 to 1975. The literary idea of Vietnamese writers undergoes
important changes as a result of significant historical passages, which also evaluate the
impact of each period’s context on the construction of the image of women under the lens of
gender. The findings demonstrate how social construction on gender and social and historical
circumstances have shaped the portraits of women.