Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. English Dept.
Advisor(s)
Sarah Braunstein
Second Advisor
Mark Meyer
Abstract
This story is a parallel narrative featuring the life in a fictional remote village in Vietnam some time during the 1800s, as well as the present-day life of a Vietnamese immigrant family in the US. The first narrative explores the efforts of a feminist duo, a matchmaker and a midwife, to help a young pregnant woman get out of an unhappy marriage. In doing so, the duo attempt to unravel traditional gender roles and oppressive social customs, and reweave the village social fabric. The other narrative explores a present-day marriage, one that is as much a disintegrating relationship as one evolving under severe duress of immigration to the US. This thesis hopes to ask and reflect on questions about family, partnership, loneliness, social belonging, duty, and individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures.
Keywords
english, creative writing, feminism, gender roles, social customs, oppression
Recommended Citation
Vu Thanh Vy, Radhika, "Where virtue goes: Stories" (2020). Honors Theses. Paper 1288.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/1288