This book lacks strong women as important characters?

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Miller56
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Re: This book lacks strong women as important characters?

Post by Miller56 »

I think the mother in the novel was a strong woman. She had to raise her child alone in a culture that deemed single women as unworthy. She also kept her wandering husband taken care of. She was well-educated and had an inner strength, even though she didn't seem to like her physical presence. I only wished she would have disciplined her child more often.
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María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
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Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: 03 Jan 2021, 10:24 As sad as it is, that was the reality for many women in history. As much as I would have loved to see strong female characters, I don't think it would have been reflective of the times.
Exactly. As much as it bothers us nowadays, it's historically accurate. And, actually, Lady Sougyon was quite strong considering the time. She raised her son by herself, in a non-approved Westernized way, for example. Insoon, in a way, could have been also strong-willed, but I think her character is underdeveloped.
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Post by angelmuktar »

Dee_Robert wrote: 02 Jan 2021, 03:12 I thought so too, I kept wondering why stronger female roles weren't emphasized or even encouraged. If it is for historical accuracy as you have said, then its quite sad that women weren't or aren't more outspoken or in identified roles. All in all though, the characters showed strength and courage in their fight, women present or not.
I agree however despite the fact that women did not have much say or couldn't do much I would have liked to see a little more strength, power, and overall female voice in the novel.
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Post by Sararob06 »

I think in the Korean culture, at least during the time period explored in the book, women were subservient to men. I feel that including what the westernized world would consider a strong female character would be inappropriate and inauthentic to the culture being explored.
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Post by KayJayElle »

Lady Sougyon is a strong character for the time of the events & for the culture.

I also found that even the writing compounded the lack of portrayal in women's strength. For example on page 201 it pointed out that "women squatted on the ground" during an explosion. Really? Only women?

I enjoyed that Mr. Koo explain to Embon and Hain that women did have an active role in the efforts - fighting, cooking, mending, nursing, and taking care of the homefront.
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Post by jsirbas »

The women in this story are a backdrop to the men. They , however were portrayed as strong women. Unfortunately their roles are to support the main characters. This I feel is historically accurate. Women at the time were completely at the mercy of their men. This is not about them however, it is more about the time and place.
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Post by Chigo Nwagboso »

In my opinion, the quthorbis justified for featuring more male characters in this historical fiction. Come to think of it, when it comes to politics now, the female are beginning to pick interest lately, and I don't also think that women should be exposed to fighting for independence.
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Post by Bookishkrish24 »

Even though there were enough female characters, they were not given the importance they deserve except Lady sougyon. Insoon's perspective would have made the story even more interesting, considering her rebellious nature.
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Post by Fazzier »

I, to some extent, agree with you that this book lacks important females characters. I also believe this was necessary to accurately represent the era this story was set in, where women were perceived a weak and unequal to their male counterparts. And just like there could be a few heroines, the author did not disappoint by developing Lady Sougyon to represent that small fraction of women in history. Lady Sougyon is evidently a strong female character and is active in politics and other areas majorly reserved for men.
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Post by raj_nandani_poet »

History have been unsuitable for women and this being a historical fiction demands depiction of reality. Maybe this is the reason for fewer strong female characters.
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Post by Nzube Chizoba Okeke »

The setting of this book was when women seldom took leadership and political responsibility in Asia. I think it was good and relatable that women didn't play important roles in this book. I would have been put-off to see that; not because women shouldn't play important roles, but it would not agree with the period in history.
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Post by Valerie Garske »

Actually, for the time, I thought Embon's mother did the best she could. She was kind to her servants and even let her maid's daughter and child live with her. In addition, Embon's wife was somewhat of a rule breaker for the time. Both women were strong. I think the book shows how little power the women had, so any independence was a show of strength. The fact that a husband can toss out his wife to the gutter shows how little power they did have. To be strong is to survive.

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Post by Deval Sodha »

This is a historical fiction and the author narrated the story keeping in mind the social position of women in those days. Still Lady Sougyon was a strong and wonderful character in the book and the story is also narrated through her perspective.
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Post by Mariana Figueira »

Women´s role in that time and culture is probably represented correctly, and it wouldn´t feel accurate to have more predominant female characters, as unfair as that is
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Post by ReviewerDiksha »

I don't think "historical fiction" is an excuse when it comes portraying strong female characters. There are several strong and influential female personalities in history, but they have never found their rightful place in these stories. Despite this, I don't think this book lacked strong female characters. They were strong in the ways that are generally taken for granted. One only needs to reassess their definition of strong and see how the characters change acording to that.
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