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“Gone with the Wind” and the Vietnamese mind

Thi Thanh Le, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Abstract

This dissertation is an exploration of the novel Gone with the Wind and its journey into Vietnamese readers' minds, specifically how the novel's concept of womanhood is perceived by Vietnamese women readers. It looks at the original text and a variety of Vietnamese translations to discover the perceptions of Vietnamese readers that may have formed from this Southern saga of the American Civil War. Chapter I traces the creation of Gone with the Wind from a Southern belle's experience of the Confederate's defeat, contextualized by women's viewpoints during the roaring 20s of the last century. Chapter II examines the characteristics of the translations into Vietnamese from English and Drench. It identifies the problems inherent in the translation process and highlight issues relating specifically to the Vietnamese language. This chapter explores various translation theories and practices and analyses the derivations that are due to the translators' viewpoints and their relation to the text. Chapter III discusses the reading and feedback process of a group of female lecturers in the English Department of Hochiminh City Open University in Vietnam. Their feedback is considered the precritical responses to the basic elements of a literary work such as the narrative's plot, characters, story, and ending. Chapter IV interprets the readers' treatment of the novel's concept of womanhood, especially the central female protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara, who dealt with the collapse of the plantation's system of values and the emergence of a new role for women. This dissertation concludes by showing that there is a strong link between Gone with the Wind and Vietnamese women readers, illustrating the reflection of Vietnamese society's interaction on a personal level. The novel's influence manifested itself in different ways in each of the respondents. This dissertation explores, through qualitative research, the meaning of Gone with the Wind for women readers in Vietnam and gives a fresh perspective of the novel's success.

Subject Area

American literature|Womens studies|Cultural anthropology

Recommended Citation

Le, Thi Thanh, "“Gone with the Wind” and the Vietnamese mind" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI3110517.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3110517

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