No Name Woman in Maxine Hong Kingston's Writing Essay

No Name Woman in Maxine Hong Kingston's Writing - Essay Example The family reacted by proclaiming, "Death is coming. Look what you've done. You've killed us". They were not saddened by the husband or the aunt's condition. They feared the wrath of the villagers and the gods. The aunt's suicide would be yet one more transgression of a Chinese taboo. As much as the pregnancy would bring anger from the gods, a suicide would bring embarrassment to the family. She would be punished for this by stripping her of her name, identity, and history. The author's expository essay paints a graphic picture of a woman who did not exist. Her visualization of the aunt's final hours brings the reader closer to the woman and generates empathy for her situation. By making the aunt human, Kingston has brought her to life and placed her punishment in contrast to her sin. By fictionally creating the story, the author has also minimized her own guilt built up from years of silence. Kingston confesses, "[...] they want me to participate in her punishment. And I have". By w riting this essay, she has undone the years of neglect the story has been subjected to. Kingston is making a statement in "No Name Woman" that illustrates the gender bias of the Chinese culture. She show's that even in her most innocent light, that of having been raped, the aunt is still an outcast and humiliating to the family.  Time and distance could not erase the uneasiness of the events. Yet, the perpetrator of the sin was never revealed as if the simple act of being a male could dissolve all responsibility. The author demonstrates this when she recounts, "The other man was not, after all, much different from her husband. They both gave orders: she followed.