This paper will discuss how The Story of the Western Wing, The Peony Pavilion, and The Peach Blossom Fan all share a common theme in which a young woman defy the social constraints and expectations imposed upon her by society in order to live a life on her own terms.
The Story of the Western Wing was written during the Yuan Dynasty and during this time period, Confucianism teachings shaped the political and social structure of the society. Confucianism established several expectations for women, all of which Oriole, the female lead of the play, is expected to obey. According to Confucius’s teachings, women had specific duties they had to fulfill. Daughters, especially those who were born into affluent families like Oriole herself, were expected to remain docile and silent. They were never allowed to leave home or be seen in public. Their desires, wants, and dreams were insignificant. Filial piety was the key virtue for daughters; it was her duty to fulfil the wishes and needs of her father and to sacrifice herself for her family if needed. These Confucius teachings are some of the social constraints Oriole experiences. In this play, it is evident that Oriole’s family highly respects Confucian values and it is apparent that she was brought up carefully to respect and obey these social principles. Her mother plays a crucial role in the enforcing this upon her. In Act 2 of the play, Crimson, Oriole’s maid, describes the extent to which Oriole’s mother has confined her daughter from being seen by men or vice versa. Oriole is hidden from public as she lives in the inner halls of their home. No male servant who has reached puberty is allowed to enter these halls unless he is summoned. Crimson describes one instance in which Oriole sneaked out of her room and was caught. Her mother reprimanded her by saying, “You are just a girl, but you left the inner chambers without permission! If you had happened to encounter a visitor or a novice who had ogled you secretly, wouldn’t you have been ashamed of yourself?” This stringent teaching precisely follows the expectations society had for a daughter born into nobility. The purpose of this type of confinement was to train women to be submissive to men. Confucius discussed gender in terms of yin and yang, in which women were yin, and men were yang. Yin was passive, soft, receptive and yielding, whereas yang was assertive and dominating. According to the natural relationship between these two forces, yang is supposed to lead yin in order for the universe to remain in balance. Separating men and women, which is what Oriole’s mother achieves by restricting her daughter to the inner section of the house, is the primary step towards ensuring that yin never dominates yang. It is clear that social barriers have been heavily enforced on Oriole since she was young. A second reason for the Oriole’s confinement is to prevent her from ever interacting with men who are not close relatives. …show more content…
As an extension of being submissive to men, under Confucianism, women were not allowed to see men who were not their husband, father or close relative. There lacked a necessity to see men besides the ones a woman had the duty to obey. By tradition, marriage was to be decided by the parents of both sides. Oriole was already promised to a man even before she is even old enough to marry. Madam states in Act 1 that her father, “promised her (Oriole) to my nephew Zheng Heng, the eldest son of Minister Zheng, as his wife.” Romantic love was rarely considered because under Confucianism marriage was treated as the union of two entire families, not just two people. Because of this, daughters would be promised to men of equal or higher social status in order to maintain or better her family’s social rank. These strict guidelines for marriage meant that society considered fulfilling ones love outside the bond of marriage to be an exceedingly indecent and licentious act. Despite Oriole’s meticulous and thorough upbringing, she is too stubborn to follow these Confucian values because of her desires. While her audacious personality is already revealed when she attempted to sneak out of the inner chambers and again when
The Story of the Western Wing was written during the Yuan Dynasty and during this time period, Confucianism teachings shaped the political and social structure of the society. Confucianism established several expectations for women, all of which Oriole, the female lead of the play, is expected to obey. According to Confucius’s teachings, women had specific duties they had to fulfill. Daughters, especially those who were born into affluent families like Oriole herself, were expected to remain docile and silent. They were never allowed to leave home or be seen in public. Their desires, wants, and dreams were insignificant. Filial piety was the key virtue for daughters; it was her duty to fulfil the wishes and needs of her father and to sacrifice herself for her family if needed. These Confucius teachings are some of the social constraints Oriole experiences. In this play, it is evident that Oriole’s family highly respects Confucian values and it is apparent that she was brought up carefully to respect and obey these social principles. Her mother plays a crucial role in the enforcing this upon her. In Act 2 of the play, Crimson, Oriole’s maid, describes the extent to which Oriole’s mother has confined her daughter from being seen by men or vice versa. Oriole is hidden from public as she lives in the inner halls of their home. No male servant who has reached puberty is allowed to enter these halls unless he is summoned. Crimson describes one instance in which Oriole sneaked out of her room and was caught. Her mother reprimanded her by saying, “You are just a girl, but you left the inner chambers without permission! If you had happened to encounter a visitor or a novice who had ogled you secretly, wouldn’t you have been ashamed of yourself?” This stringent teaching precisely follows the expectations society had for a daughter born into nobility. The purpose of this type of confinement was to train women to be submissive to men. Confucius discussed gender in terms of yin and yang, in which women were yin, and men were yang. Yin was passive, soft, receptive and yielding, whereas yang was assertive and dominating. According to the natural relationship between these two forces, yang is supposed to lead yin in order for the universe to remain in balance. Separating men and women, which is what Oriole’s mother achieves by restricting her daughter to the inner section of the house, is the primary step towards ensuring that yin never dominates yang. It is clear that social barriers have been heavily enforced on Oriole since she was young. A second reason for the Oriole’s confinement is to prevent her from ever interacting with men who are not close relatives. …show more content…
As an extension of being submissive to men, under Confucianism, women were not allowed to see men who were not their husband, father or close relative. There lacked a necessity to see men besides the ones a woman had the duty to obey. By tradition, marriage was to be decided by the parents of both sides. Oriole was already promised to a man even before she is even old enough to marry. Madam states in Act 1 that her father, “promised her (Oriole) to my nephew Zheng Heng, the eldest son of Minister Zheng, as his wife.” Romantic love was rarely considered because under Confucianism marriage was treated as the union of two entire families, not just two people. Because of this, daughters would be promised to men of equal or higher social status in order to maintain or better her family’s social rank. These strict guidelines for marriage meant that society considered fulfilling ones love outside the bond of marriage to be an exceedingly indecent and licentious act. Despite Oriole’s meticulous and thorough upbringing, she is too stubborn to follow these Confucian values because of her desires. While her audacious personality is already revealed when she attempted to sneak out of the inner chambers and again when