WIDOW CHARACTER IN VIETNAMESE FOLK LITERATURE

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2024-0048

Abstract

A widow is a woman whose husbandhas passed away and is living alone. In Vietnam,many women have to live in widowhood. Thecharacter of a widow is also reflected quite a lot inVietnamese folk literature. In the genre of legendsand fairy tales, the widow character appears in theimage of a virtuous, faithful mother, who givesbirth to national heroes. The image of a widowappears more often as a weak person - bothphysically and mentally. They are victims ofgreedy, lustful people, victims of feudal laws, andvictims of prejudice. Due to prolonged repressionand inhibition, many rebellious widow charactersdare to live true to their sexual desires. Thus, thecharacter of a widow has been portrayed quiteclearly and multi-dimensionally.