The tale of Kieu - Essay Example

“The tale of Kieu” Every society, in this world, has a set of behavioral s that define what is right and what iswrong. The idea of morality has been a subject of debate in various sociological and philosophical discussions. This has made a number of scholars develop different schemes and models that describe morality and its impacts on human behavior. Nguyen Du, in the Tale of Kieu, presents morality as one of the major themes. The Vietnamese society, which is depicted in this story, is regulated by a set of laws, rules, and regulations that are defined in the context of the definition of morality and Confucian values. Du presents his story as immoral since Kieu, the main character, chose to challenge the norms and traditions of a male dominated society, especially on how a woman should conduct herself, in Du’s society. I say this because she is portrayed as someone who decided to go against his father’s will, broke her promise to marry her lover, Kim, and adopted prostitution as a means of earning a living. Kieu’s actions and behaviors should not be perceived as mere immoral activities since some sense of morality can be drawn from her actions. This paper, therefore, challenges the author’s presentation of this Vietnamese masterpiece as an immoral story and presents its moral position. According to morality and Confucian values, Kieu’s actions and behaviors are immoral. I say this because the author does not attempt to challenge the barriers created by Confucian values, in addressing the plight of women in Vietnamese society. Du’s story mainly focuses on how a virtuous woman should act morally, decisively, and liberally to protect the image of her family and herself. However, the ideas Du presents, in this poem, defy the traditional patriarchal perception of a woman frailty (Du 142). The author believes that their society is bound by universal virtues, which are admired by all societies. However, he fails to recognize that such virtuous characters do not necessarily appear relevant for all his audience and society. This is because moral and virtue have different meanings when defined within a certain context. This is the reason why Kieu’s actions are depicted as immoral when she decides to disobey her parents, adopt prostitution, and fail to marry Kim. It is necessary to note that moral and Confucian values are commonly used to control situations. There are some occasions where people have differed on what moral rights to use when dealing with certain situations. This is, therefore, an indication that morals are not discrete since they change from place to place, and from time to time. For instance, Kieu wanted some changes, in her life, and this made her go against the norms and traditions of a male dominated society. In Du’s society, it was a taboo for women to love or engage in any sexual activity, with any man, before marriage. Therefore, according to the author, Kieu’s behavior is immoral when she chose to love Kim against her parent’s permission (Du 123). However, readers learn that Kieu promised to remain faithful and chaste to Kim until they get married. The author himself confirms that Kieu managed to keep herself safe, even in the face of Kim’s tempting lust. This proves that Kieu’s behavior is morally right because she manages to keep the Confucian value of women’s virginity intact (Du 132), and remain loyal to her father. Maintaining chastity intact is not a sign of abiding by the moral codes of a Vietnamese society, but it is a sign of freedom of living in accordance to what she thinks is right. I think that Kieu is not a strict moralist because she chose to go against her parent’s wish to love Kim. Additionally, she chose to work as a prostitute just to provide for his brother and father. She realized that the societal norms can sometimes inconvenience people, especially women, and the only way to survive is to violate such acknowledged morals. Kieu also defied Confucian values when she failed to marry Kim. The society expected no woman to break this promise once an oath is taken. Failing to fulfill this promise is perceived as immoral behavior. However, readers established that Kieu made this decision just to protect Kim’s later life. By doing this, I think she is trying to remain liberally virtuous. This is because she does not care about herself alone, but also about other people like Kim, her father and brother. She is ashamed about her past life because she thinks the society does not perceive her past behaviors as morally right. She openly admits to Kim that several men had laid their hands on her and even got intimate with them, in exchange for money (Du 123). She is, therefore, afraid to accept Kim as her husband due to her negative reputation and image, in the society. I think that Kieu is a heroine in this masterpiece because she does not violate the acknowledged norms without a purpose. For instance, she had to choose prostitution in order to support his brother and father. I, therefore, consider her as a virtuous liberal lady, not like her society that perceives her as an immoral character. In conclusion, it is wrong to perceive Kieu’s actions as immoral, in this poem. This is because morality and Confucian values are primarily used to solve situations. Norms also vary from society to society. This implies that the validity of using norms to solve situations becomes irrelevant after some time. Kieu realized that she was the only person, who could support his brother and father; therefore she chose prostitution, not because of her wish, but because she felt a victim of this circumstance. This, however, is perceived by her society as immoral behavior, but if this is right, then she could not be virtuous. It is clear from the poem that Kieu is liberally virtuous. This is further indicated, in Du’s poem, when she frankly tells Kim that her past life is not morally right, therefore; he cannot marry her. She does this to protect Kim’s future. Kieu’s actions, in this poem, are moral, and this makes Nguyen’s masterpiece, The Tale of Kieu, a moral piece too. Works Cited Du, Nguyen. THE TALE OF KIEU. Trans. Huynh Sanh Thong. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983. Print Read More