The first chapter, "No-Name Woman," begins with one such talk-story (the oral tradition of passing down stories in China), about an aunt Kingston never knew she had. Because this aunt had brought disgrace upon her family by having an illegitimate child, she killed herself and her baby by jumping into the family well in China.
The second chapter, "White Tigers" is based on another talk-story, one about the mythical female warrior Fa Mu Lan. Fa Mu Lan 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. After her battles are over, she returns to be a wife and mother.
The third chapter, "Shaman" focuses on Kingston's mother, Brave Orchid, and her old life back in China. Brave Orchid was a powerful doctor, midwife, and, according to the talk-story, destroyer of ghosts back in her village.
The fourth chapter, "At the Western Palace" refers to another of Brave Orchid's talk-stories, about an emperor who had four wives. It is an analogy for her sister Moon Orchid's situation: Moon Orchid's husband, now a successful Los Angeles doctor, had left her behind in China and remarried in America. Brave Orchid urges her sister into a disastrous confrontation with the man to demand her due as his wife. Therefore, Moon Orchid, who does not speak a word of English, is left to fend for herself in America. She eventually goes crazy and dies in a California State mental asylum.
The final chapter of the memoir, "A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe," is about Kingston herself. This section focuses mainly on her childhood and teenage years, depicting her anger and frustration in trying to express herself and attempting to please her mother.
“No Name Woman” clearly portrays the ideology of women being inferior to men. In this story, Kingston’s aunt gets pregnant, while her husband is away working in America. Due to her husband's absence, the family and villagers view her pregnancy as immoral and the result of an adulterous relation. On the night that the baby is to be born, her aunt’s house is raided by an angry mob of villagers, who destroy the family crops, slaughter the livestock, and crush all of her aunt's personal possessions as a way of punishing her for her immoral behavior. In the story, the women of the village were persecuting her poor aunt right alongside the men. Although, her aunt was not at fault for getting pregnant, a village man had forced her into having sex with him. However, when the time came for the baby to be born, the villagers did not go after the real criminal—the man who raped Kingston’s aunt. Instead, they punished her aunt, the criminals’ victim.
This story relates to China's feudal era, when society was male-dominated. There was consequently a pervasive belief in man's superiority over woman that continued as the ruling ideology throughout feudal society. Women were thus viewed as little more than servants in feudal China.
In this male- dominated society, the male is responsible for being the breadwinner and supporting his family. This is the reason the aunt’s husband is away working in America. While, the aunt stays in china serving as a servant, performing her daily chores, and being loyal to her husband. In addition, the male dominance allows for males to rape woman as they please. This is the reason the aunt becomes pregnant and is viewed as having committed a sin. Although, she was impregnated against her will.
Chinese tradition has a role for woman in family structure. Women have to obey their fathers before marriage, their husbands during marriage, and their sons in widowhood. When Kingston’s aunt breaks this structure, by getting pregnant, she brings disgrace upon her family and is outcaste from the village. This ultimately leads her to commit suicide. She is no longer righteous and determines she must kill herself. This is also, due to the fact that, she is made to believe it is her fault.
This story has affected me in the way the society treated women for hundreds of years. I can relate to this concept of one group oppressing another group. In my world, it is not due to my gender, but my race. In some communities, my race is viewed inferior to others. I am subject to oppression by other groups. My skin color may someday prevent me from getting a top-position at a corporation or being hired. In much the same way, women were not allowed to have top position in government or society as a whole.
In conclusion, tradition Chinese society has made male dominant over females. Women were placed in the lowest level of the family structure and obligated to obey their male guide. This book demonstrated how women were viewed and treated in traditional Chinese society.
