The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston

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Recommended: Introduction to Chinese culture

The theme of “voiceless woman” throughout the book “the woman warrior” is of great importance. Maxine Kingston narrates several stories in which gives clear examples on how woman in her family are diminished and silenced by Chinese culture. The author not only provides a voice for herself but also for other women in her family and in her community that did not had the opportunity to speak out and tell their stories.

The author starts the book with the story of her aunt. This story was a well-kept family secret being that her aunt’s actions were of great disappointment to the family. The “no name woman” as the story names her, was forgotten by all her family because she had a child that was not from her husband. This story gives a clear example of women role in Chinese culture. As the author states “Women in the old china did not choose” (pg 6).Women back then did not had authority so speak their wills and wishes. They were only allowed to obey orders from their parents, husbands and mother’s in law. In this culture, woman were not able to choose who they want to get married; instead their parents choose their significant others. This tradition is clearly reflected in the story of Maxine Kingston aunt as she was given away to her husband’s family.

Furthermore, the “no name woman” was not only forgotten by her family but by her husband as well. He left china for 30 years in which she did not knew anything about him. Even though she did not lived together with her husband she was still expected to behave as a married women. Evidently this woman got tired of waiting and “raised her own voice” and took action into her own hands. Despite the fact that she had to follow certain rules, she decided that she wasn’t going to wait any...

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...e way she wanted to.

Also, Kingston was not the only “voiceless girl” in her class, her sister and other girls kept silence for many years. As Kingston states “the other Chinese girls did not talk either, so I knew the silence had to do with being a Chinese girl”. It is clearly visible that their Chinese heritage had a great impact in their social life at school. As the years progressed Kingston transferred to another school and got enough courage to start talking.

Without any doubt, the theme of “voiceless woman” is clearly visible in every story that Maxine Kingston presents in the book woman warrior. Even though each woman starts as a “voiceless woman “in all the stories, they end up being woman with courage and determination towards the end.

Work Cited

Maxine Hong Kingston. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, April 23, 1989

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