Because Kingston cannot ask about her unnamed aunt—who is referred to only as “No-Name Woman”—she invents her own fantasies about why her aunt gave in to her forbidden passions. ... Any sexual passion could lead to adultery or incest and therefore threatened the social order.
What is the aunts name in No-Name Woman?
The Woman Warrior opens with the story of Maxine Hong Kingston’ s forgotten aunt, the “No Name Woman.” She is a sister her father does not acknowledge as ever having been born because of the humiliation she brought to the family.
What is the purpose of No-Name Woman?
If Kingston’s purpose in writing The Woman Warrior is to solidify her identity as a female Chinese American , then for her to remain silent about her aunt is tantamount to her rejecting her own sense of self.
Who is the main character of No-Name Woman?
Maxine The central character in The Woman Warrior. Shy, awkward, introspective, and intellectual, she describes her anguished childhood years and her coming to terms with two competing cultures, American and Chinese.
What purpose does Kingston have in telling her aunt’s story?
Kingston recognizes that there are many secrets and “ghosts” in her family that prevent her from coming to terms with her own identity. She knows that her aunt has been banished from the family, yet no one will acknowledge her existence. So Kingston tells this possible story to give her aunt an identity .
What is Brave Orchid’s personality?
Brave Orchid is a proud and intelligent woman who comes off as both gentle and cruel in equal parts in the memoir. She appears throughout the book but figures most prominently in “Shaman,” which depicts her life in China as a doctor and a woman of almost magical powers.
What does the narrator think is the real punishment placed upon her aunt?
According to the speaker, what is the real punishment inflicted upon the aunt? The real punishment is that she is now deliberately forgotten by her family . She would have to ask for food from other ghosts and steal food from people. She will have to suffer even after her death.
What is talk story in The Woman Warrior?
In The Woman Warrior, Kingston has experimented with a new kind of “talk-story” writing in blending family stories , cultural myths, fantasy, autobiographical details, and history, as she attempts to model her work on the familial talk-story culture she was nurtured in.
Who wrote No Name Woman?
Maxine Hong Kingston’s Short Story Essay. “No Name Woman” is a short story written by Maxine Hong Kingston and was included in her book The Woman Warrior,with the first publication date in 1975.
Why does the narrator’s mother tell her the story of her aunt?
Her mother made the narrator promise never to tell her father or anyone else about her aunt because she brought great dishonor to her family . The narrator knows that she is braking this promise to her mother by telling this story to the reader. This helps explain the title. ... So they decided to ransack the aunt’s home.
Who is Fa Mu Lan in The woman Warrior?
Fa Mu Lan lives with an old man and an old woman who train her from the age of seven to the age of twenty-two to avenge her village. The legend of Fa Mu Lan is reimagined by Kingston with the inclusion of details that are specific to her Western upbringing.
Who is moon orchid in The woman Warrior?
Brave Orchid’s sister , who arrives in the United States after spending years living in Hong Kong. Moon Orchid differs from her sister, who is only one year older than she, in that she is a rather passive personality and less independent.
How long has it been since Kingston heard the story of her aunt?
It had been twenty years since Kingston first heard the story about her aunt. She has not asked for details, not even her aunt’s name.
Why does Kingston proceed to tell the tale that she was forbidden to tell?
Kingston proceeds to tell the tale about her aunt that she was forbidden to tell because she wants to give a voice to this “no name aunt” that she has . Kingston recognizes that there are many secrets and “ghosts” in her family that prevent her from coming to terms with her own identity.
What happens to Fa Mu Lan when she is seven years old?
Fa Mu Lan, whose story is told through Kingston’s first-person narrative, trains to become a warrior from the time she is seven years old , then leads an army of men—even pretending to be a man herself—against the forces of a corrupt baron and emperor.
Who is foil to moon orchid?
Pretty, weak and uncoordinated—in her sister’s words, “useless”— Moon Orchid plays foil to Brave Orchid’s force of personality, determination, and ability. Moon Orchid is also an effective contrast to her Chinese-American nieces and nephews, whom she follows around the house observing their everyday actions and foibles.
