The Death of Woman Wang

Spence discusses the position widows had in traditional Chinese society and the social and moral demands made of them. The Local History records biographies of widows who managed to make ends meet and raise their children successfully (59). In his stories, P’u mocks both the idea of widows being completely pure and the gentry who compiled these stories of virtuous widows “for their combination of fastidiousness and lechery, the very characteristics that they lavishly praised others for not having” (61). Still, Spence argues that P’u bought into Chinese society’s gender norms. For example, in one of his stories a widow who takes a lover before her husband’s funeral is complete is then killed by her husband’s vengeful ghost. Another story is about an intelligent widow named Hsi-liu, who uses strict discipline to ensure that her lazy stepson and son become an accomplished scholar and merchant, respectively (62-70).

Whatever the ideals, widows often had to remarry so that the deceased husband’s family could reclaim his property; otherwise, those same relatives would harass them for money (70-73). In one case, a widow named P’eng became the caretaker of her son Lien. Lien’s cousins, the Ch’en brothers, plotted to harass her into moving away or remarrying.