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Friday, February 7, 2020
Du's Use of the Imagery of Rose in the Tale of Kieu Essay
Du's Use of the Imagery of Rose in the Tale of Kieu - Essay Example From a feminist perspective, the rose imagery can perceived as a part of the male dominated society imposed culture of stylizing the female body as well as female gender in a manner that serves the patriarchyââ¬â¢s purpose, the best, of subjugating and subordinating them for satisfying their carnal hunger. In Nguyen Duââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The Tale of Kieuâ⬠the use of rose imagery and its comparison with the protagonist Kieu essentially depicts the patriarchal scheme of creating a culture that is supposed to stylize the female as weak, feeble and incapable to taking any difficult responsibility. I said this because Du depicts a womanââ¬â¢s sufferings in a society that is essentially ruled and dominated by Confucian patriarchal values and the imagery of ââ¬Ëflowerââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëroseââ¬â¢ serves him the best to uphold the societyââ¬â¢s view of women. In the ââ¬Å"Tale of Kieuâ⬠the imagery of rose is fraught with a number of meanings and attributes such beaut y, loveliness, sexual appeal, fragility etc. In plain eyes, an imagery of rose represents Kieuââ¬â¢s purity, chastity and a number of other virtues. In fact these virtues make the protagonist so lovable, desirable, pretty and admirable. The narrator describes her as a rose which has lost its home: ââ¬Å"Alone with her dilemma in deep night, /â⬠¦../ A rose afloat, a water fern adrift: / such was the lot her future held in storeâ⬠(Du, line 216-220). Kieuââ¬â¢s beauty has been significantly symbolized by the rose imagery. Obviously the story of Kieu, who is as beautiful as a rose, is more heartrending and poignant. It instantly evokes the readersââ¬â¢ pity for the protagonist. At the brothel, while sitting by the window Kieu was watching a ââ¬Å"washed out roseâ⬠. In fact Du has depicted such scene in order to intensify the pitiful situation of Kieuââ¬â¢s life: ââ¬Å"Her feelings snarled like raveled skeins of silk. / Through window bars she gazed at mists beyond / a washed out rose, a willow gaunt and paleâ⬠(Du, line 40-44). In fact, in ââ¬Å"the Tale of Kieuâ⬠a rose has been used as a symbol of lust. Kieu is not only beautiful but also she is sexually appealing like a ââ¬Å"fragrant roseâ⬠. Once, Kim was attracted to Kieu sexually. But the protagonist had been able to save her rose-like chastity and purity. But her sexual beauty is as appealing as a fragrant rose is. The narrator of ââ¬Å"The Tale of Kieuâ⬠describes the scene as following: ââ¬Å"A fragrant rose, she sparkled in full bloom, / bemused his eyes, and kindled his desire. / When waves of lust had seemed to sweep him off, / his wooing turned to wanton liberties.â⬠(Du, line 342-348) In the same fashion, the image of a rose has been used to refer to Kieuââ¬â¢s sexual attractiveness in the following lines: ââ¬Å"He could not drive her from his haunted mind./â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦../ Silk curtains veiled her windows like dense clouds, / And toward the rose within he'd dream his way. (Du, line 245-250) Remarkably the ââ¬Ëroseââ¬â¢, that is Kieu, in these lines seems to an object what a boy dreams of and the phrase ââ¬Å"he'd dream his wayâ⬠indicates that Kieu is a sexual existence, since a matured boyââ¬â¢s way of dreaming of a girl must be associated with sexuality. Ironically the similarity between Kieu and a rose is a reference to her weakness also. By drawing Kieuââ¬â¢s similarity to a rose, the author also reminds the readers of Kieuââ¬â¢s helplessness and weakness. Womenââ¬â¢s fragility and weakness have conveyed through the rose
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