No Name Woman Analysis

Maxine Kingston’s story, “No Name Woman” recounts the tale of a young lady who learns the heartbreaking history of her aunt’s illegitimate child. The resulting aftermath is a bevy of turmoil and chaos that ultimately forces her to meet a tragic end. Kingston spends most of her time bordering on the line between fact and fiction, making the readers journey through the story quite complicated. The author is amazing at illustrating what a struggle it is for Maxine to believe certain things about her aunt, often debating the distinction between accuracy and personal experience. The story not only describes the aunt’s struggle but also paves the way for her niece to help sort out her often confusing emotions. Kingston becomes a rarity choosing …show more content…
Her family has spent so many years being silent, protecting this family secret, while shunning this woman, her aunt. Because Maxine continues to not tell her aunts story she is in fact continuing the tradition and shaming her aunt. Kingston breaks free from the male controlled culture giving voice to Chinese customs by telling her aunt’s tale. She recounts a male denominated society where men are celebrated and women are subservient. “Women in the old China did not choose. Some man had commanded her to lie with him and be his secret evil. . . . She obeyed him; she always did as she was told” (309).
“No Name Woman” originally starts off as a tale about a young girl’s aunt and her horrific past and gradually transitioning to a young woman’s passage into adulthood. How she found peace in her heritage, accepting the past and embracing the future, all the while claiming the new her. Kingston boldly goes where no woman of her time has ever gone. Challenging norms, breaking down barriers and in a sense standing up for all those who never dreamed they could. Kingston, indeed rarity chooses to speak out, become different, while seamlessly supplying a “voice” for so many women who have always been