There is a meeting between Nam Cao, Ngo Tat To, and Thach Lam when looking at the individual on the family level associated with awareness and responsibility. The beauty of women in the works of Thach Lam and Ngo Tat To is first of all the traditional beauty of diligence, sacrifice, and wholehearted love for husband and children. In the works of Thach Lam, "Family" is a symbol of peace and warmth when Tam sits down to eat in the "loving eyes of everyone" after a hard day carrying a load of goods from home to the market and then from the market back home (The Grocery Girl); it is the happiness and beauty of the past, contrasting with the dirty present (Thirty Night). Ngo Tat To and Thach Lam have a meeting in building the image of traditional women who always consider family as a spiritual support in the uncertain moments of life and also the moment for their personality to be affirmed. The beauty of Chi Dau (Tat den) shines in the most difficult situations and circumstances of a poor farmer family when they lack money to pay taxes. Chi Dau becomes the pillar of the most miserable family in Dong Xa village, rushing back and forth to take care of her husband, children and worry about paying off the "state debt". For her family, for her husband and children, she is willing to endure the tyrannical mandarins. But also for her husband, children and family, she strongly fights back against them with hatred and resentment. "Family" is the source of the latent strength of this poor rural woman.
It can be affirmed that looking at people from the perspective of family has helped romantic and realistic writers clearly portray human portraits, reaching depth in reflecting reality.
The individual in relation to himself left a strong mark in the prose of the period 1932 - 1945. When discussing the concept of the individual in the Tu Luc Van Doan novels, researcher Le Thi Duc Tu discovered the itinerary of the individual: from the social individual with strong political colors to the romantic individual, the instinctive, extreme and reckless individual and affirmed: Tu Luc Van Doan novels are thematic novels about the individual. We believe that this statement can also be applied to the statement about the individual in the realistic prose of this period. Besides the image of the individual - society, the individual - family is the individual - instinctive person.
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Psychological Structure - Typical Model of Thach Lam's Prose.
In the early works of romantic literature (typically the novels of Tu Luc Van Doan), the individual has a strong social color and a strong ideal character. In the later stages, the instinctive individual gradually appeared. The individual here always thinks and acts according to the philosophy of the absolute self. Tuyet (Doi Mua Gio - Nhat Linh, Khai Hung) had a unique concept of life "You are always mine from body to soul" and a motto engraved in her iron heart "No love, no emotion, only consider the pleasures of life as an elixir of life" and "Love is the meeting of two fleshes". Commenting on the character Tuyet, researcher Le Thi Duc Tu said: "Tuyet is a new model of personal freedom. The need to liberate the individual from the family
feudalism such as Mai (Halfway through Spring), Loan (Breakup), Nhung (Cold),
Hong (Escape) is no longer a problem for Tuyet. Tuyet demands a radical liberation from the family in general as a cell organization of society that denies the responsibility of being a wife and a mother. Tuyet only worships enjoyment and the illusion of an absolute freedom that never becomes anyone's property but wants to own everything... to reach a concept of life: I am always mine from body to soul" [Le Thi Duc Tu (1994), Concept of human beings in the novels of Tu Luc Van Doan through three authors Nhat Linh - Khai Hung, Hoang Dao, PhD thesis in Literature Science, Institute of Literature, Hanoi.; pp. 44, 45]. The scene in Thanh Duc has a philosophy of life similar to that. While the father (Mr. Thanh Duc) pursues the greatest goal of getting rich by doing plantation business, Canh (the son) - a medical student, always takes the pleasure of having fun, doing whatever he likes, loving whoever he likes as the purpose of life: "Being born into this world is to be happy, to be satisfied, not to suffer, to complain or to pursue any unrealistic goal" [Phan Trong Thuong, Nguyen Cu (introduction and selection) (2001), Tu Luc Van Doan Literature, volumes 1,2,3, Education Publishing House, Hanoi.; volume 2]. Like Tuyet, Canh has a Western-style concept of free life. Love for Canh is nothing more than the goal of pleasure: "only physical love is sacred", so Canh has courted both his father's lover and his friend's lover. Canh deliberately failed the exam many times to stay in school forever, to continue to have fun without having to solve the problem of "what will happen to my life, which direction will I take after graduation." [Phan Trong Thuong, Nguyen Cu (introduction and selection) (2001), Tu Luc Van Doan Literature, volumes 1,2,3, Education Publishing House, Hanoi.; volume 2]. Character Truong in White Butterfly
Nhat Linh, when he knew he was living the last days of his life, revealed a very extreme view of life: "taste all the pleasures in life, live to the fullest to
no longer wish for anything". Truong acted recklessly: embezzled funds, smoked
opium and gambling (a form of gambling) to enjoy the absolute freedom of instinct, not accepting "the oppression of everyday life". And as a result, Truong had to go to jail.
Paying attention to “carnal love” is the meeting point of Vu Trong Phung with Nhat Linh and Khai Hung when exploring the instinctive life of human beings. If romantic writers explain “carnal love” with the philosophy of absolute ego, Vu Trong Phung explains it with “lustful identity”. In a way, we see that Vu Trong Phung is also close to the viewpoint of Nhat Linh and Khai Hung when he thinks: “Sex is as necessary for the flesh as eating and drinking”. Characters such as Truc Ngon, Pho Doan, Xuan Toc Do (So Do), Long, Mich (Giong To), Huyen (Lam Prostitute) are vivid evidence for this viewpoint. Doctor Truc Ngon, whenever he opens his mouth, talks about “lust”, “physiology”, “sex”. Whenever Mrs. Pho Doan hears someone talking about rape, her eyes light up and she has a “very new concept of virginity” which is “being faithful to two husbands”. As for Red-haired Xuan, he had a "lustful nature" since he was a little boy who climbed tamarinds, climbed crocodiles, and picked up mulberries and "peeked at his aunt bathing and the old lady changing her dress".
8.1.2. Interference in the sense of humane and progressive reality
The humane and progressive realist sense is the inevitable convergence and brilliance in romantic and realistic prose in the period 1932 - 1945. This does not happen randomly or individually because the origin of this progressive sense is the combination of the humane tradition, national spirit with the progressive democratic spirit of humanity in the thoughts of Vietnamese writers in the face of the dark situation of the country. Although not expressing the spirit of patriotism and progressive democracy as fiercely as revolutionary literature, romantic literature and realistic literature have focused on expressing feelings for the country and the people clearly. Many works have aimed to expose and strongly denounce the crimes of feudal colonialism, especially in the period 1936 - 1939. Each trend has its own way to express the national spirit, democratic spirit and is associated with each specific historical situation.
are the levels
different expressions. The special thing in the
this interference, the
Prose trends have complemented each other to create richness and diversity in the expression of human values. The national and democratic spirit in realistic prose is strongly expressed in the value of denouncing and criticizing the corrupt society of the time, finding and affirming the beauty of the working people. Romantic prose stands out when it aims to praise the beauty of nature, Vietnamese people and the consciousness of expressing love for the homeland.
8.1.2.1. Denouncing social injustice and inhumanity
The content value that is emphasized in romantic prose as well as realistic prose is to denounce the inhuman society. As intellectuals, writers deeply feel the pain of the people in the loss of their country, loss of freedom and having to live a dull, confined life due to hunger, poverty, and injustice that is rampant in society. This attitude is clearly shown in the thoughts and themes of many romantic and realistic works.
With the intention of "Making people know that Confucianism is not suitable for the times"
more” [Phan Trong Thuong, Nguyen Cu (introduction and selection) (2001), Literature
Chapter Tu Luc Van Doan, volumes 1, 2, 3, Education Publishing House, Hanoi.; volume 1; page 10], romantic writers have focused their pens on denouncing and condemning outdated and corrupt feudal etiquette. In their views and descriptions, feudal etiquette is one of the fundamental causes that binds people's legitimate right to live, pushing people into a lonely and miserable life. That could be the fate of the girls in Halfway Spring, Breakup presented through the mother-in-law - daughter-in-law relationship; in Coldness through the false reputation that is besieging and burying forever youth and happiness with the four words: "Tiet Hanh Kha Phong". Mrs. An (Halfway Spring) is a living proof of the cruel nature, cunning tricks... of the feudal class. She did not hesitate to use any tricks from seduction, intimidation to false accusations to prevent the marriage of Mai and Loc to force her son to move forward.
to a pre-arranged marriage in a "socially compatible" way. Mrs. Phan in the Section
Tuyet has tortured Loan since she became a daughter-in-law to push her to kill her husband. Nhung's mother-in-law in Lanh Lanh used the four words "Tiet Hanh Kha Phong" to bind Nhung's life - a very young and beautiful widow. Although only focusing on criticizing society on the cultural aspect, through some characters such as Mrs. An, the landlord Han Thanh (Halfway of Spring), the couple An Bao (Gia Dinh), Mrs. Phan (Doan Tuyet), the authors of Tu Luc Van Doan have both pointed out the causes of injustice in society and condemned the old feudal rites that are destroying people's happiness.
In Thach Lam's works, old-fashioned notions and prejudices have turned the life of daughters-in-law like Lien (A Lifetime) and Dung (Two Deaths) into hell. It is a life of being a daughter-in-law full of humiliation, associated with the "biting, mocking" words of the mother-in-law and the "heavy" beatings of the abusive husband [Phan Trong Thuong, Nguyen Cu (introduction and selection) (2001), Tu Luc Van Doan Literature, volumes 1,2,3, Education Publishing House, Hanoi.; volume 3; page 303]. At the end of Two Deaths, the image of Dung, her footsteps trudging back to her husband's house, as if entering the realm of death from which she could not escape, haunts the reader: "Dung sadly thinks of her own death. This time, when she returned to her husband's house, she was sure to drown, dead without being able to hold on to anything, dead without even hoping for anyone to save her" [Phan Trong Thuong, Nguyen Cu (introduction and selection) (2001), Tu Luc Van Doan Literature, volumes 1,2,3, Education Publishing House, Hanoi; volume 3; page 344].
The feudal class appearing in the works of realist writers is a typical product of a rotten society with all its bad habits. It is a whole system of mandarins from top to bottom following the colonialists in their pursuit of power and colluding with each other to exploit the workers. Typical are landlords like Nghi Lai (The Dead End), Huyen Hinh (The Ghostly Land), Tri Phu Tu An, Nghi Que (The Lights Go Out), Nghi Hach and the system of mandarins from the prefecture to the district (The Storm) or Ba Kien (Chi Pheo). Each name has its own characteristics but they all have one thing in common: They only know how to "bully people". Focusing on these portraits, realist writers criticize comprehensively and deeply. Ngo Tat To exposes the wormy nature of local tyrants through their brutal actions and embezzlement tricks when "collecting taxes". Only at this exact moment, all the most miserable and brutal things of the local feudal class are fully revealed. Through the “fierce drinking and meat” faces in the communal house along with the arrogant and literary words of the village chief of Dong Xa village, the wormy and cruel nature of these people is clearly revealed: “I say above there are the chief, the chief and all of you: I do this tax case very hard... We are kings working, all year round, only in times of “great flood” and “tax collection” like this, do we have the right. Beat, tie up, any stubborn village boy... beat to death indiscriminately” [Lu Huy Nguyen, Phan Cu De (1996), Complete Works of Ngo Tat To (5 volumes), Literature Publishing House, Hanoi; volume 4; page 266]. Inciting people to hate each other, lending money at interest, inciting farmers to go to the mandarin's office, turning them into prey for
The crime of Nghi Lai in Dead End
(Nguyen Cong Hoan). Sooner or later, honest and simple farmers like Mr. Pha lost their fields to Nghi Lai and became hired workers... It can be affirmed that the lives and fates of poor workers are more precarious than ever due to the disasters created by feudal colonialism: oppression by tyrants, high taxes, famine, drought, floods, ignorance and superstition... Among all these disasters, the most prominent is the oppression by tyrants and this is also the direct cause of human suffering, creating injustice in society.
The issue of human dignity is always a matter of concern in realistic and romantic prose. It is not by chance that in the works of these two trends, the image of people being humiliated and trampled on in terms of human dignity appears as a regular and inevitable phenomenon. The rotten feudal colonial society is destroying human dignity every day, depriving people of their good qualities. Living in that society, people do not have the opportunity to build a good life, but on the contrary, are often exploited physically and mentally, easily losing themselves to hunger, poverty... and the lure of trivial fame and fortune. When her personality is insulted, Mai (Halfway through Spring) decides to leave Loc to affirm her value and self-respect: to raise her younger siblings to become talented, to raise her children to grow up with her own willpower and labor. An in Gia Dinh (Khai Hung) because of Nga's desires and his family also had to follow the path of mandarin, gradually losing the good qualities in his soul and being infected with the mandarin life with the ways of making money, the way of living at will. The image of Viet district has been and is degenerating to the extreme, which is also the inevitable result of the lifestyle of resentment, jealousy, envy created by the feudal family. In the critical and critical view, Gia Dinh appears as a powerful force representing evil, binding and controlling people completely, from material life to spiritual life. People in many works have succumbed and fallen before the power and temptations of society of money, fame and profit.