Virgin Widows and the Cult of Chastity

This article discusses views of women and modernity in the literature of early twentieth century China. In presenting this, the author focuses on "Virgin Widows," a book that presents the story of modern women, their choices, and how society at large responds to, and remembers, them. She presents stories of divorce, sacrifice, and of women following their own paths to the anger of everyone else. These stories and views of women in literature are seamlessly tied into the views held by most of Eastern Asia for centuries, and how those views still affect us today.