View on Women

Throughout the readings for Tuesday’s class, there was a common theme of women. The three stories in Ha Jin’s, The Bridegroom, and the short reading in the GHS reader all shared insight into the cultural views on women in Chinese society. The GHS reader discussed how a woman should always have the best interests of her family in mind when making decisions. This was seen when Meniscus’ mother moved around until she found the right place for her son to grow up. This was considered as the way of motherhood. Now, in our society, a family would not move around multiple times to find the best environment for a child to grow up in. There are many cases where families can not move due to financial or other reasons. There are more instances where families are not moving for their children than there are of families moving for their children. The reader continued to talk about a woman’s duties within the family. One idea I found interesting was the “three submissions”. This states that “when she is young, she must submit to her parents. After her marriage, she must submit to her husband. When she is widowed, she must submit to her son.” I thought this part, in particular, was interesting because I would never have thought that a woman should “submit” to their children. I do not think that in general anyone should be submitting to anyone. I understand that children should respect their parents and that people should be equal in a marriage, but I don’t think anyone in either situation is submitting. In today’s society, children usually take care of their parents when they can no longer take care of themselves, but no one is submitting. If you want to read more about the role of women in Chinese society from the past and today click here.