The Tale of Kieu

Nguyet Cam (2004) maintains, "If Shakespeare's work represents the greatest literary achievement in the English language, then Nguyen Du's 3254 line masterpiece, The Tale of Kieu, can be considered the pinnacle of classical Vietnamese literature" (1). The opening of Nguyen Du's (1987) The Tale of Kieu offers an introductory saying: "Of course, when two kin spirits meet, one tie soon bins them in a knot none can yank loose" (1). Such kin spirits are Kieu and Kim. Through upheaval of dynasties, murder, kidnapping, prostitution, and other turmoil, the love of Kieu and Kim remains strong in The Tale of Kieu. Kieu and Kim are kindred spirits, Kieu the daughter of a well-educated family and Kim a young scholar. Throughout the story, the kindred spirit and strong bond of love shared by Kieu and Kim is likened to the permanent shine of the moon. Though they are different in a number of ways, Kieu and Kim's love continues to shine through a number of tragedies like the moon, "still shines the same old moon both once swore by" (Du 1987, 3074).

In Vietnamese society, a girl's fate, particularly her marriage fate, is determined by her parents. When Kieu and Kim first meet, she wonders if they meet due to fate and tells Kim a girl's fate is decided by her parents. In this manner, Kieu is different than Kim in that Kim is more impulsive about their love and marriage. Kim is a romantic who likens himself to a love struck boy of Vietnamese lor

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