HUE UNIVERSITY HUE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES LE THI THANH XUAN VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES BY WOMEN WRITERS (2000-2015) FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM Major: VIETNAMESE LITERATURE Code: 9220121 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN VIETNAMESE LITERATURE Science instructor: Assos Prof Dr Ho The Ha HUE – 2020 This thesis was completed at University of Sciences, Hue University Scientific advisors: Asst Prof HO THE HA University of Sciences, Hue University Reviewer 1: Asst Prof VO VAN NHON University of Social Sciences and Humanities Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City Reviewer 2: Asst Prof HOANG THI HUE University of Education, Hue University Reviewer 3: Asst Prof NGUYEN THANH SON Quy Nhon University The thesis was defended at the Council of thesis assessment of Hue university: Council held at: 04 Le Loi street, Hue city, Thua Thien Hue Province, at am, on month year 2020 Theses can be found referred at: National Library Center for Information and Library of University of Sciences, Hue University INTRODUCTION The urgency of the thesis topic The feminist movement has long taken place in social life and literature It is a struggle to regain the female’s lost-positions in order to rebuild women’s equality and new position It was first consolidated to Feminist Theory and finally called Feminism by the feminists The movement originated from women’s sense of self that was initiated in the Enlightenment period and risen vigorously from the nineteenth century to the present In 1949, Simone de Beauvoir, who was a French scholar, published The Second Sex The book has vital importance in promoting Feminism both in modern social life and literature When discussing the second sex (female), Simone de Beauvoir would like to create equality in comparing it to the first sex (male) About ten years later, along with the significant changes in the ideological life of humankind, Feminist Criticism, which was as a school of political-social criticism, has flourished In the current period, Feminist Criticism is even expanded and divided into many varied branches Seriously associated with these primary changes, nuances of feminists were profoundly absorbed into literature that forming a unique voice and a specific identity in modern and postmodern literature Many researchers have chosen Feminist Theory and Feminist Literary Criticism as their research topics in levels of authors and works Unfortunately, there has not been any research that extensively studied Feminist Literary Criticism on Vietnamese women’s short stories in the period 2000 to 2015 As a result, we have selected Vietnamese Short Stories by Women Writers (2000-2015) from the Perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism as our thesis topic Research object and scope 2.1 Research object The thesis examines some short stories that demonstrate the most feminist resonance by typical female writers from 2000 to 2015, including Le Minh Khue, Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Y Ban, Vo Thi Xuan Ha, Tran Thuy Mai, Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, Do Hoang Dieu and so forth 2.2 Research scope In order to carry out the research, we focus on studying and analysing some new and compatible contents of the theory of Feminist Criticism (which initiated by Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex) in the reality of writing of some typical Vietnamese writers in the period 2000 to 2015 The research aims to point out the characteristics of gender factors and feminist resonances at the holistic level among the form and the content of literary works Thereby, the thesis shows female writers’ contribution to modern Vietnamese literature from the perspective of gender, Feminism, and Feminist Literary Criticism concerning literary sociology Approach and research methods 3.1 Approach methods By applying the theory of Feminist Literary Criticism, the thesis analyses some representative Vietnamese short stories by women writers from 2000 to 2015 to discover humanistic and aesthetic values that deeply concealed in the language, images, and ideologies of literary works 3.2 Research methods - Comparative method: This is a core method of the thesis By analysing and comparing literary writings in both content and form levels, the method depicts the feminist spirit and feminist resonances in the artistic sense of each writer and each representative work - Structural and systematic methods: The method has an essential meaning in modeling and systematising views of Feminism in short stories by the local women from the medieval to the modern - Typology method: This is a primary method to determine the characteristics of the female writing style and creative personalities of some typical female authors in both content and artistic aspects of literary writings Besides, we also apply the theory of Poetics as a supportive method to illuminate the outstanding factors of the content and form, which are two aspects of creating the autonomous whole of the local female writers’ short stories from 2000 to 2015 Contributions of the thesis There are the following new contributions in the thesis: - Firstly, the thesis systematises and analyses feminist issues in culture and literature, particularly the matter in Vietnamese short stories by women writers from 2000 to 2015 Afterward, the thesis confirms the awareness of gender and the female resonance in contemporary literature are an essential consequence of the equalisation and democratisation in society and literature that female writers have been deeply aware of and effectively expressed in their creations - The thesis studies the reality of creating short stories by female authors, especially in the period 2000 to 2015, in order to see the innovation in demonstrating content and form of works Correspondingly, the thesis points out the remarkable contributions of the local female writers in promoting and developing the stream of feminist literature, which has been present ever Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusions, references, and appendices, the thesis is structured into four chapters: Chapter One: Overview of the research situation Chapter Two: Feminist Theory, Feminist Literary Criticism, and the feminist spirit in Vietnamese literature Chapter Three: Types of female characters with gender characteristics in Vietnamese short stories by women writers (20002015) from the perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism Chapter Four: The artistic method of Vietnamese short stories by women writers (2000-2015) from the perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism Chapter One: OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH SITUATION 1.1 The situation of research on Feminist Theory 1.1.1 The situation of research on Feminist Theory in the world The analysis of Feminist Theory is the study of the struggle to achieve gender equality in all aspects of social and spiritual life In the West, in addition to some famous writings of Feminism such as The Second Sex (1949) by Simone de Beauvoir, A Vindication of the Right of Women (1972) by Marie Wollstonerast, The Golden Notebook (1979) by Doris Lessing, it must mention to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud and Structural Psychoanalysis by Jacque Lacan In which, the term “the Oedipus complex”, which invented by Sigmund Freud, has distinguished the characteristics of male and female: the former is active and possessive, the latter is passive and dependent 1.1.2 The situation of research on Feminist Theory in Vietnam In Vietnam, the investigation of Feminism also took place quite early, particularly from the early twentieth century It can be seen that thanks to the qualitative and quantitative research on gender theory and Feminist Theory, the local scholars have led readers to a diversified, effective, and creative approach to Feminism Criticism Feminist Literary Criticism is really a new way of literary study and reception There are some theses and dissertations that study on Feminism, including Gender Issues and the Feminist Resonances in Contemporary Vietnamese Prose through the Work of Some Typical Female Writers (Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Doctor Dissertation in Literature, Hanoi, 2013), The Female Characters in Ernest Hemingway’s Works from the Perspective of Feminism (Le Lam, Doctor Dissertation in Literature, Hanoi, 2015), The Feminist Consciousness in Vietnamese Female Poetry From 1986 to the Present (through Some Typical Cases) (Nguyen Thi Huong, Doctor Dissertation in Literature, Hanoi, 2016), The Feminist Consciousness in Vo Thi Xuan Ha’s Prose (Duong Mai Lien, Master Thesis in Literature, Danang, 2004) 1.2 The situation of research on Vietnamese short stories by women writers from the perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism Nowadays, the analysis of Vietnamese short stories from the standpoint of Feminist Literary Criticism is becoming a new and attractive way of literary studies Because feminist doctrine not only profoundly affects many subjects and many different areas of life but also influences the life of literary criticism and every literary reader The local literature has been a comprehensive renovation and innovation since 1986 Based on the existing theoretical foundation to receive and promote the theory of Feminism has helped female authors possessing an opportunity to apply the theory into the life of creativity and criticism They are the pioneers of the feminist movement in Vietnamese literature Through the expression of issues that are very close, simple, but containing many profound humanistic values, they have created an outstanding reputation Some representative works that cannot be ignored, not excepting I am Dan Ba by Y Ban, Bong de by Do Hoang Dieu, Canh dong bat tan by Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Minu xinh dep by Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, Ban tay lanh by Vo Thi Hao, and many other outstanding short stories of writers from different generations All these works have reflected a particular world of feminine nuances in literature, which constructs unique artistic effects 1.2.1 Before 1986 From 1945 to 1975, the local researchers and critics assume that the Southern urban literature (“Van chuong thi mien Nam” in Vietnamese) has a prosperous progress, especially its prose that comprising feminine and modern nuances of female writers Typically, The Fighting Literature of the South (1969) and The Southern Literature and the 1945-1950 French Resistance (1972) by the researcher Nguyen Van Sam These books depicted the Southern villagers’ struggle Especially, Nguyen Van Sam has examined some authors who associated with women’s ideological maturity in the South of Vietnam Generally, the situation of research on short stories by women from the perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism before 1986 was not much and only focused on female writers’ urban prose of the South It also, however, set up a very impressive and individualistic milestone of its development in the modernization progress of Vietnamese literature Simultaneously, it was a basis and premise for female writers expressing their feminist consciousness in each writing in the subsequent period 1.2.2 After 1986 After the Doi Moi period (since 1986), Vietnamese short stories had a prosperous “transformation” that opening a glorious period for the literature of the country The period has witnessed the peak development and prosperity for prose with many sensitive young writers who were brave enough to explore contemporary life Some prominent researches and criticisms on Feminism, which are indispensable references when studying femininity, including Literature and Feelings (2005) by Ton Phuong Lan, Vietnamese Modern Short Stories 1945-1975 (2007, 2010) by Hoa Dieu Thuy, Literary Theory and Criticism: Innovative and Creative (2013) by Cao Thi Hong, Modern Vietnamese Literature: Creation and Reception (2015) by Nguyen Bich Thu Besides, there are some professional female critics such as Mai Huong, Luu Khanh Tho, Ly Hoai Thu, Hoang Thuy Anh, Tran Thi Tram In the current situation of literary criticism in Vietnam, according to the local female critic Tran Huyen Sam, Feminist Criticism is playing a vital role that is “a potential research direction” on gender issues 1.3 Evaluation of the research situation and implementation of the topic 1.3.1 Evaluation of the research situation It can be assumed that Feminist Theory and Feminism are an intensive and feasible research approach that has been integrated into literature and gained sure success and achievement Feminist Theory and Feminist Literary Criticism, which pay attention to female as its main research object, all emphasise gender inequality and the consequences of gender discrimination Feminist Criticism has a profound research direction because it is applied not only in literature but also in sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and education Thanks to the strong spread in all aspects of society, Feminist Criticism, which comprises a diversified theoretical system from the West, has been chosen by many scholars as their central research direction 1.3.2 Implementation of the topic In the first place, through studying Feminism and gender-related issues that have been selected by some researchers as their primary interests, we find that researching the theoretical system of Feminism as well as applying the theory on analysing and criticising literature have brought positive values In the second place, we also go indepth to analyse and systematise types of gender-specific female characters in the local short stories from a perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism In the third place, we try to discover the genderconscious of discourse system that female writers cleverly integrated into their writings The discourse system expresses the clear, individualistic, kind, compassionate voice of femininity Chapter Two: FEMINIST THEORY, FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM, AND THE FEMINIST SPIRIT IN VIETNAMESE LITERATURE 2.1 Feminist issues and the emergence of Feminism 2.1.1 Origins and concepts of feminist issues Charles Fourier, who was a French philosopher and one of the founders of utopian socialism, invented the term “feminism” The term “feminism” or “feminist” appeared for the first time in France and Netherlands in 1872, in the United Kingdom in the 1890s, and in the United States in 1910 The Oxford English Dictionary first introduced the term “feminist” in 1894 that was translated as “a person who advocates women’s rights” Many movements that enforce the rights, as a result, it would be considered feminist movements 2.1.2 The emergence of Feminism and the development of women’s rights Along with the appearance of Feminism is the development of women’s rights The feminist movement that struggles for women’s equal rights over the world has proved that: women who want to improve their material and spiritual life should concern about some remarkable issues such as income, work, education, and knowledge If the woman in a family ultimately depends on the man, and the former has no jobs and expertise, then she will have no voice both in her family and in the whole society In contrast, if women have a stable job and income, they will have an intensive voice and decision-making powers Nowadays, the more community develops, the more women show their feminist position in all aspects of the economy, culture, politics, and society 2.2 Feminist Theory and Feminist Literary Criticism 2.2.1 Feminist Theory Gender theory or Feminist Theory is recognised as awareness and restriction of oppression, exploitation, and abuse of females in work, social life, and family life At the same time, it is towards entirely ending the patriarchal domination, the oppression, and exploitation of women’s sexual and reproductive health It calls rights to contribute, work, and be treated equally with men 2.2.2 Feminist Literary Criticism Feminist Criticism only really became popular through the excellent work of French female writer Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex (1949) In her work, Beauvoir harshly criticised the patriarchal culutre that pushed women to the margins of society as well as art and literature In the ideology of such culture, men always attach to humanity and history, but women are perceived as “the Other” They are always in a passive and dependent condition and depending on men entirely On the other hand, Ecofeminist Criticism, which is a new and feasible research trend, is closely related to Feminist Literary Chapter Three: TYPES OF FEMALE CHARACTERS WITH GENDER CHARACTERISTICS IN VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES BY WOMEN WRITERS (2000-2015) FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM 3.1 Female characters with the fight for the right to life and freedom 3.1 Female characters with the fight for the right to life Female characters with the struggle for the right to life and liberty is also a fundamental theoretical premise to moving towards the liberation of women in The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir In the process of examining short stories by the local women writers, we found that compared to the fierce “personalisation” art for women of Y Ban and Do Hoang Dieu, the female writing style of Tran Thuy Mai still presents the air of deliberation, gentleness, easiness but full of bravery and pride in the personality and soul of the ladies of Hue Tran Thuy Mai’s artistic technique has profoundly delineated and “dissected” the female characters’ multi-dimensional and multi-faced inner world Consequently, it shows the desire to live happily and freely that is the aspiration of women in general and the feminist resonance in Tran’s short stories in particular 3.2 Female characters with the fight for the right to freedom There is a shared-point between female characters of Y Ban and Do Hoang Dieu: they would like to seek the freedom of love - a love with many sublimate emotions Thus, the characters have conducted “adultery in mind” Indeed, Beauvoir had a very humanist view and made a convincible explanation for the matter Compared with the femininity writing style of Tran Thuy Mai, Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, and Nguyen Ngoc Tu, the styles of Y Ban and Do Hoang Dieu are a bit “rebellious”, which adds a magical and unconscious factor, making works of the two more unique 3.2 Female characters with motherhood and desire for love 11 3.2.1 Female characters with motherhood The maternal instinct is the highest beauty and most sacred nature of a woman Women in any situation know how to take care of, love, and protect her “little angels” The instinct also affirms the virtue of self-sacrifice, hard work, and emotional richness is the most praised femininity in all genres of contemporary feminist literature of Vietnam (For example, Canh dong bat tan by Nguyen Ngoc Tu and Day to me xin nghi phep by Thy Le) 3.2.2 Female characters with a desire for love Each women writers seemly has an individual style in writing about motherhood and the silent sacrifices for love Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, for instance, portrays ladies and girls as the protagonists that can be found in Hau thien duong, Coi me, Tan cang, Huyen thoai, and Di vang On the other hand, Tran Thuy Mai describes unhappy women such as “Nguyet ca nhac” (in Quy trang), “Vy ngay” (in Chuyen o hoa xoan), “Thuy cam” (in Am ba co), “Ha gai ban hoa” (in Not ruoi son), and “Kieu Dung” (in Le cuoi bac) Besides, the main characters in Y Ban’s short stories are beautiful intellectual ladies who are disappointed and unstable as well as always thirst for love, always ready to burn out for love These characters are depicted in some works of Y Ban, including Cuoi cho, Cuoc tinh Silicon, Ga ap bong, Nguoi dan ba dung truoc guong, Sau chop la giong bao, and Tu Unlike other female writers, Nguyen Ngoc Tu focuses on depicting the sinking fate of the honest Southwestern (“mien Tay nam bo” in Vietnamese) women Some of them are the little girl of Nuong in Canh dong bat tan, the lonely woman in Dong nho, and Co Ut in Cai nhin khac khoai The shared-point of all female characters in literary imagination (and possibly in real life) is an intensive aspiration for a truly happy family 3.3 Female characters with sexual instincts and the need for sexual liberation 3.3.1 Female characters with sexual instincts Nowadays, women authors write about sex is the way they can express their sentiments and contemplation in modern life It 12 is becoming a new literary tendency Writing about sexuality is also the approach that female writers self-liberate theirs identifies The writers have taken the woman as the central image in their works Causes of the action originate from the root of society where they are living 3.3.2 Female characters with the need for sexual liberation Female characters in the writings of Do Hoang Dieu, Y Ban, Le Thi Hoai Nam, and Doan Le share the common point is that they have a miserable, tedious, deprived, even “oppressive” sexual life They are not hopeless, in contrast, they find ways to liberate themselves by applying “adulery in mind” or even “having sex in dreams” (see Bong de by Do Hoang Dieu), “having sex in remembrances” (see Vu quy by the same author) Bong de short story, for example, tells about a woman who went back to her husband’s hometown to attend a remembrance ceremony Some sexual-related dreams obsessed her strangely: In her dream, the ghost of her fatherin-law brought the lady the sensual satisfaction that she had never experienced with her husband The feeling made her feel “amused”, “scared”, and “guilty” 3.4 Female characters with ecological senses and the sense of selfliberation 3.4.1 Female characters with ecological senses Through women’s writings, nature is the “catalyst” for female gender to demonstrate the wild and feminine beauty Nature always listens, understands, and protects women respectfully and lovingly In turn, the woman sees in her soul sympathy, love, the same pain, loss, joy, and happiness Simultaneously, women writers’ short stories call people working together to protect and preserve the fresh living environment of nature, which is also the “natural house” of mankind (see Suoi lanh by Ha Thi Cam Anh, Doi hoang by Pham Thi Ngoc Lien, and Bien nhu toi nho by Ly Lan) 13 3.4.2 Female characters with the sense of self-liberation In addition to female characters with ecological minds, we would like to mention the characters with a regard of self-liberation, particularly the trend of describing the feminist consciousness in some representative female writers’ literary works The goal is to reach the aspiration of self-liberation, which is a new feature that we want to prove as a highlight of Feminist Literary Criticism (see Cay thieng lung nui by Bui Nhu Lan, Hoi tho cua nui by Nie Thanh Mai, and Lac giua long Muong by Ha Ly) In some short stories, the woman in mountainous areas and ethnic minority communities has to suffer disadvantages and prejudices The reason is the nature of uplanders, from men, village elders to the commune chiefs, are very conservative, backward, and afraid to accept new things and advances It is a gloomy picture due to women’s fate is very unfortunate They are like buffaloes and cows in their family that are always working hard all day They are even beaten, not allowed to go out, have fun, and enjoy life Chapter Four: THE ARTISTIC METHOD OF VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES BY WOMEN WRITERS (2000-2015) FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM 4.1 Narrative focus Modern female prose is paying more attention to issues of women’s rights and equality As a result, the problems of gender discourse are increasingly concerned, and it is a “hot” topic now Hélène Cixous is the first scholar to discover the style of “female writing” (L’écriture féminine) in literature According to the scholar, there is a close relationship between sex and discourse, on the one hand, the discourse also plays a role in boosting sex, on the other hand 4.1.1 Internal focalization The internal focalization is the characters’ viewpoint in literary works Narrators usually use “I” personal pronoun or use the thirdperson mode to tell the story In terms of internal focalization, there is no distance between the character and the narrator Because, in this case, the 14 storyteller is the character In other words, the narrator is like “incarnates” into characters who are comprehending all thoughts and personalities of the character Moreover, by applying the internal focalization, the female characters’ inner world is depicted most dimensionally The “I” character is the subject of spokesman, who is also the narrator He directs the story following the characters’ psychological situations The works that contain the desire for happiness, love, and family of women occupying most of the writings of female writers, including Phieu linh trang by Nguyen Thu Phuong, Hoang hon Do Thi Thu Hien, Chang no nan gi by Tram Huong, and Day neo tran gian by Vo Thi Hao Some short stories describe the tireless battle for personal wishes that have been “trampled” and “destroyed” Hanh in Trang noi day gieng (by Tran Thuy Mai), the dancer Mi in Sau tham mot me (by Ho Thi Bich Ngoc), and some other female characters in Thuy (by Le Thuy Van) are typical examples 4.1.2 External focalization By using external focalization, the narrator often emphasises on actions and words outside of the character Sometimes, the writers borrow the external focalization to analyse the character’s inner world In this way, the author has made an objective view of the character’s personality and behaviour External focalization creates an invisible distance between the character and the storyteller but still expresses the content and ideology of the work The characters’ words and actions are “catalysts” for readers to better understand the character’s thinking Because actions and words are the way to assert the character’s ego 4.2 Artistic tone In order to express the authority of women in their short stories, female authors applied many different voices and styles to form diversity and richness in literary expression They show a wide range of artistic tone, which is lyrical, incredulous, philosophic, enumerative, and interrogatory 15 4.2.1 Lamentable and sympathetic tones The lamentable and sympathetic voice is the primary artistic tone that appearing in many short stories by female writers The voice is a metaphor for the writers’ sympathy and love for women who have a scabrous fate Besides, it is an encouragement for women to live more bravely and “give off their fragrance” forever even though life is not like a dream Each writer has a typical style and a signature style Nguyen Thi Thu Hue covers a sympathetic voice that is full of anxiety, concern, and worries Nguyen Ngoc Tu shows a compassionate and simple tone, not “colourful” that is as same as her own Southwesterners Ho Thi Hai Au’s artistic voice has a deep devotion and sympathy Tran Thuy Mai has a yearning voice that is pertaining to placate others Vo Thi Xuan Ha possesses an emotional and sobbing voice about maternal love These tones create a tremendous feminist orchestra with a variety of particular colours and styles The female writing style, in comparison with men’s, has more strength in expressing women’s voice because female writers are people of the same gender Female authors comprehend female characters’ pain, loss, and suffering more profoundly Through lamentable and sympathetic voices, female writers have shown a subtle, sensitive, and multi-dimensional view of gender issues Correspondingly, it affirms and praises the value of femininity, the silent sacrifice, and the love and happiness aspiration of women 4.2.2 Philosophic and contemplative tones The philosophical and contemplative voice is an essential artistic tone that women authors often use in their writings The philosophy means a summary of what is perceived from the origin of mind, spiritual values, and the behavioural power in real life or literary the characters’ life The voice manifests the experiences and emotions of anguish, excruciation, and happiness of women in 16 marriage and family life These profound contemplations and philosophies are drawn from the writer’s life It is expressed in a multi-dimensional and whole way through the female characters’ point of view The more the characters are grievous, the more their experiences are profound, and the more philosophic tones show the feminism of the weaker gender The thoughtful and contemplative voice is the encouragement and consolation for female characters It is also a lesson of outlook-on-life for them in the constant fluctuations and changes of life The writers use this type of artistic voice richly and abundantly via characters’ emotion and judgment, as a result, the readers are easier to enjoy the philosophical tone of the characters 4.2.3 Humorous and satirical tones The emergence of humorous and satirical voice is a “blooming” phenomenon in modern Vietnamese literature, especially after the Doi Moi (innovation) of the country In this period, from the standpoint of literary topics, the topic of war has gradually decreased in the composition of the local writers instead of simple stories of a new life People, therefore, have changed They are always incredulous and qualmish for love, life, and the change of the human heart They are afraid of the changes in the people who lie in their embrace Along with the process of development and modernisation of society, literature has begun to explore and go deeper into the satirical element to bad habits of human beings Short stories by the local women writers also witnessed such spectacular makeover It can be seen that satire in short stories of Vietnamese women writers is often self-epigrammatic that has both humorous and real humanistic values Most of the female characters in women’s short stories from 2000 to 2015 are beautiful and intellectual The common point that they share is that they encounter many unhappiness and suffering in 17 marriage and family life Thanks to these experiences, however, they become stronger and more energetic to live better Consequently, they slowly affirmed their foothold and position in society In such particular situation, the feminist resonance in women’s short stories is expressed in a close and straightforward manner Anguish is a basis for women to appreciate their values more and more The artistic language and narrative tone, which contain many new, unique, and complicated emotions, has created an unforgettable impression in the hearts of every reader It is a “mark” of female writers’ literary style that is very subtle, flexible, creative, and compassionate Each female writer has a different tone in writing her short stories Le Thi Hoai Nam has a warm and romantic tone The narrative voice of Y Ban and Do Hoang Dieu is contemplative and philosophical Mai Thy is young and dreamy in her artistic tone Nguyen Thi Thu Hue expresses a gentle but profound voice A pure and simple voice is the style that Nguyen Ngoc Tu persuades Ho Thi Hai Au likes to use a grotesque voice; Bui Thi Nhu Lan applies a voice of pity and sympathy about gender All of these tones are like a multicolour chord that reflects the diversity of language, voice, the narrative mode in literature, particularly in contemporary Vietnamese short stories Concurrently, it confirms the “intensive” vitality of the genre of female short stories in the development progress of Vietnamese literature 4.3 Gender-conscious discourse in Vietnamese short stories by women writers from 2000 to 2015 4.3.1 Self-narrative discourse The style of female writing (l’écriture féminine) manifests the dialectical view of the female writers on the state of society The style, primarily the phenomenon of self-narration, became sublime and developed since the Doi Moi (innovation) period in 1986 Many women authors made their debut and left an 18 unforgettable impression It shows an important advance and transformation in liberating the writers themselves The female writing style is also the original expression of the tenacious battle with the “deep-rooted” ideologies of the patriarchy that has existed for hundreds of years 4.3.2 Identity discourse The writers have incorporated the discourse of identity into their works It has achieved prominent results in terms of content and art form Identity discourse has a pretty combination of psychological elements and multi-dimensional emotion of the characters It is a selective type of discourse that creates the “knots” and the suspense, suddenly leading the characters to the unconscious and instinctive actions in literary works 4.3.3 Body discourse The feminine beauty of women’s bodies is an essential factor that female writers have focused on describing in contemporary Vietnamese short stories The discourse of the female body has its own gender characteristics It contains the subtle and profound meaning that women authors have integrated into their writings The writers are usually priority taking the discourse to describe women’s physical beauty The beauty, fortunately, can have the power to overwhelm the “cultural power” and even the pain of war It awakes and stirs love between humans and humans This is also a symbol of Motherhood (“Mau” in Vietnamese) and the cultural identity of Vietnamese women that female writers often focus on it to “embellish” the exceptional virtues of women for many generations 19 CONCLUSIONS In each development stage of literature, the feminist issue in Vietnamese short stories by women writers is more and more in line with the development trend of the era Based on the previous feminist movement, feminist literature had a substantial development The image of women entering poetry and prose has gradually been “popularised” more widely as well as eliminating the harsh imposition of male rights on women in all social aspects The mark of the theory of Feminist Criticism has been spread widely before 1980 At that time, scholars and researchers gradually paid attention to the style of female writing and the tendency to exploring women’s instincts Feminist Criticism demonstrates its importance and usability when it combines smoothly with Psychoanalysis Criticism, Gay Criticism, Marxist Criticism, Post-colonial Criticism, and Ecocriticism By receiving the theory of Feminist Criticism from the West selectively, Vietnamese literature has created a “makeover” in expressing the consistent and extraordinary image of women in modern life Through the optimal weapon of literature, Feminist Criticim has step by step affirmed, struggled, and established equal rights and position for women, as well as against the inherent masculine ideology in society The feminist resonances in literature have spread since 1986 Although the theoretical system of Feminism in the country is still “young” in comparison with the West’s, the application of Feminist Criticism into literature has gained many outstanding achievements There have been more women writers and female scholars who have prioritised gender issues to the top of their writings and researches As a result, since Doi Moi period, the literature on women really had a “transformation” This is a period of literature containing the colours of the feminine that is a contrast to men’s “imperfection” 20 The genre of female short stories has made a prominent advance It was a new trend, which was full of integration with world literature, to denote some “hot” matters of love, marriage, the family of women who carried the permanent resonance of feminism Besides, in terms of literary genre, the advantage of short stories is that it is shorter and more concise than novels Despite its feature, short stories still ensure the transmission of messages about gender equality, against the male-dominated regime, and the harsh prejudices of society for women Moreover, it is thanks to the innovation in literature that has helped women writers’ writings becoming more and more deeply personal, which was the “territory” of men in the past Female writers are no longer “tied” or following the “trail” of “safe” standards of society Instead, they adhere to the open-minded and natural feelings even for the internal emotional problems of women: the sexual factor Women writers write about sex not inferior to men, inversely, female writings even more abundant and humanistic through each creative page of women authors Hence, short stories by women writers from the perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism is a prominent research direction and has high applicability in literature, culture, and sociology Thanks to divers senses, harmonies, and full of emotions about human love, women’s loyalty, the local female writers have cleverly shown their female characters in a multi-dimensional and complicated inner world The writers have incarnated themselves into each character to tell stories as their own life stories by a vision of insight and sympathy The female authors have pumped new blood, which filled with youthful energy and enthusiasm for the local literature For short stories by women writers, spending thirty years of development, its poetics innovation reflected in the character world 21 has made a new step in dignifying the feminist resonance in modern times Female writers have portraited a world of diverse and colourful female characters They are female characters who fight to the right to life and freedom The characters also strongly show their motherhood, love desires, sexual instincts, the need for sexual liberation, ecological consciousness, and a sense of self-liberation All these types of female characters have broken down every norm of beauty that has been shaped in the previous times Female characters are not only a model for the modest and good-natured traditional beauty of women but also a modern elegance with a rebellious spirit in order to struggle for their own happiness and needs They are not afraid to pour out their hearts They dare to speak up the feminine voice of women They are brave to criticise male rights and old-fashioned and harsh social ideas Along with the style of narration and the innovation of artistic language and narrative voice, the character system of female short stories from 2000 to 2015 has formed an impressive discourse style on gender and the feminist spirit that brings the breath of the era and humanity of women writers The highlight in prose, especially in short stories by women authors after 1986, is the diversity of literary topics and themes Female writers frequently prefer questions that are very close and simple to daily life Some common topics in short stories of the period include the desire for love and family happiness; the image of an honest and capable woman who dares to break out of the outdated norms and habits of the family and society to find out her own path; the libido and sexual desires All of these factors have shaped a completely different face for contemporary Vietnamese female short stories Examining short stories by women writers from 1986 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2015, we found that: in the former period of literature, although some veteran female writers 22 have established a platform for Feminist Literary Criticism in their works, there has not really clear and impressive in the diversity of topics and themes as well as the presence of “hot” issues and languages (e.g., sex-related expressions) In the later period, women writers of the younger generation have followed the pioneers By new minds, they have received new and progressive things that were suitable for the era The content of their writings is also more diverse, authentic, and closer to practical needs Therefore, their works have really been gained impressions and achievements in connecting women’s rights and the sacred things of women Objectively, the writing style of female writers might not address some issues on a big scale as male writers did The formers tend to pay attention to simple things in daily life, such as the human condition and, especially, the inner world of women Despite only mentioning such micro issues, female writers still create a “seductive force” to readers The writers have been successful in describing and “dissecting” the world of female characters in a more multidimensional and multi-faceted way The system of female narrative discourse is a highlight in Vietnamese short stories by women authors from 2000 to 2015 It brings diversity in creative and flexible styles of female writers Regarding Feminist Literary Criticism, the female narrative system, which is a feature by characteristics of the method of female writing, is an essential art form that needs to analyse and clarify to demonstrate the feminist spirit in short stories fully The poetic characteristics elements of short stories such as the autobiographical form and gender-conscious discourse system create a vivid and diverse style of female writing Thanks to the sincere sympathy, the new and flexible language, the unique factors of poetics and narrative of women writers, the works write about the image of women can live with time forever 23 From the viewpoint of Feminist Literary Criticism, short stories by women writers from 2000 to 2015 have acquired some brilliant achievements However, there were still some limitations: the number of short stories on feminism is still few, the writing style of some works is quite vague It is not very easy to conduct in-depth research for readers who receive these works Through the topic of Vietnamese Short Stories by Women Writers (2000-2015) from the Perspective of Feminist Literary Criticism, we have conducted an in-depth systematization and interpretation of feminist issues in culture and literature On this basis, the thesis shows that feminist consciousness and feminist resonance in contemporary literature are an inevitable consequence of the trend of equalisation and democratisation in society and literature Female writers were deeply aware of it and expressed very effectively Besides, there are still some issues that the thesis has not solved, including the scope of the research (the number of authors and works) that is only limited to some representative women writers For the realm of short stories, the work on feminism is not really productive, in terms of content and art form, it has not shown the prominence of the spiritual aspect as well as the fierce struggle of women for human aspiration Moreover, for short stories that bring a blur resonance of feminism, we not survey in the thesis We hope the thesis will be a scientific work providing a voice in studying Feminism, which is increasingly expanding and developing The thesis will open new research prospects and additional research for those interested in gender issues and Feminism in the future 24 LIST OF RESEARCH WORKS BY AUTHOR RELATED TO THE THESIS I Articles Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2017), “Feminist Tendency in the Writing of Ethnic Minority Female Authors”, Hue University Journal of Science: Social Sciences and Humanities, Hue University, 126(6B), pp.211-220 Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2018), “A Study of the Gender and Feminine-Conscious Tone in Some Typical Modern Short Stories of Vietnam”, Proceedings of the 4th National Conference on Interdisciplinary Research on Linguistics and Language Education, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2018), “Sexual Factors and the Need for Sexual Liberation in Vietnamese short stories by women writers”, Journal of Science, University of Science, Hue University, 11(2) Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2018), “The Feminist Spirit in Tran Thuy Mai’s Short Stories”, Journal of Science, University of Science, Hue University, vol (12/2018), pp.113-122 Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2018), “Fundamental Theoretical Issues and Suggestion of Research Ways on Feminism at Home and Abroad”, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Vietnamese Studies, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, pp.766-772 Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2019), “Some Examples of EcoFeminism in Contemporary Vietnamese Female Short Stories”, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Vietnamese Studies, The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, pp.815-820 Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2019), “The Feminist Spirit in Y Ban’s Short Stories”, Journal of Sciences, The University of Danang University of Education, vol 32 (1/2019), pp.66-72 II Research projects Le Thi Thanh Xuan (2017), Feminism in Modern Short Stories of Vietnam and Japan, Research Project, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, pp.1-46 ... Feminist Literary Criticism on Vietnamese women’s short stories in the period 2000 to 2015 As a result, we have selected Vietnamese Short Stories by Women Writers (2000- 2015) from the Perspective of... analyses feminist issues in culture and literature, particularly the matter in Vietnamese short stories by women writers from 2000 to 2015 Afterward, the thesis confirms the awareness of gender and... the feminist spirit in Vietnamese literature Chapter Three: Types of female characters with gender characteristics in Vietnamese short stories by women writers (20002 015) from the perspective