FEMININITY IN CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE LITERATURE - A STUDY THROUGH SYMBOLS

Abstract

Femininity is an interesting phenomenon, a feature of contemporary Vietnamese literature. It is expressed through a rich, diverse system of artistic symbols. The symbols both reflect the traditional Vietnamese cultural identity and imprint of the contemporary period with the deep integration and cross-cultural interference. From a cultural perspective, this article utilizes a combination of Feminist criticism and approaches of Semiotics, Poetry, Narratology to describe and analyze typical symbols of femininity in contemporary Vietnamese literature, with three basic groups of symbols: symbols of nature, symbols of society, and symbols of body and emotion. Thereby, the article shows the characteristics of the way of seeing and feeling the world as well as the richness in the spiritual and physical life of women in contemporary Vietnamese literature.