Literatura de Língua Inglesa

Student: Helena Márcia

No Name Woman (from The Woman Warrior) - Maxine Hong Kingston

No Name Woman (from The Woman Warrior) provides a reflection about

Chinese tradition and the situation of immigrants in the foreign culture and the
way of life from where they live. The cosmopolitan aspect of New York can be
noticed in this story, once it is famous for have a population with many different
origins in the world. The no name woman in this story can be compared with the
invisible man from the Ellison’s story, since they were ignored by the society to
which they belonged. She was so ignored that even her name was told in the
whole story. This story provides a reflection about sexual freedom for women
and also about the sexism that contradictorily rules the society. The woman was
punished for acting just the way her traditional society compelled women to act.
When she decided to obey her fiancé and have sex with him, she was acting
the way this sexist society expected, but when she is left by his fiancé and they
found out that she was pregnant, she becomes the only sinner and the only
responsible for that situation. In that way, we can say that this woman and her
child were sacrificed by their society because one tradition that does not
contribute to a better life, neither for women, nor for men (at least, the men in
her family). This sacrifice could be compared with the sacrifice in The Lottery
(Shirley Jackson), where tradition was also followed by the whole society even if
it costs the life of someone.