“THE CARRIER BAG THEORY OF FICTION” AND NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE VIETNAM WAR IN THE LITERARY WORKS OF LE MINH KHUE

Abstract

This article initiates its perspective from Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction,” published in 1986, using it as a foundation to re-examine women's literary texts on the war, as well as the ways in which female characters are presented within these texts. In the essay, Le Guin posits that since prehistoric times, men have engaged in warfare and reveled in heroic narratives, while women have remained on the periphery of these accounts. Furthermore, if the weapon is the object associated with men, symbolizing masculinity, then women are more often associated with the bag. This perspective is broadened as Le Guin elaborates on the art of storytelling. Drawing upon Ursula K. Le Guin’s perspective, novels, particularly those authored by women addressing the theme of war, can be conceptualized as “carrier bags.” These literary forms contain essential aspects of experience often overlooked or marginalized within conventional narratives that predominantly glorify the (male) hero. Accordingly, this article undertakes a rereading of selected works of women's war literature through this theoretical lens. It examines the portrayal and significance of female roles within these narratives, as well as their potential to deconstruct the conventional structure centered on the individual male hero. The specific texts selected for analysis in this paper are the prose works of Le Minh Khue, a representative female Vietnamese author renowned for her writings on war.