怨女

by Eileen Chang, 張愛玲

With the reissue of "The Rouge of the North" and "The Rice Sprout Song", readers will have the opportunity to appreciate Eileen Chang's elegant prose style, her harrowing analyses of human motives, and her keen understanding of desire, loneliness, and hunger, both physical and metaphysical. "Eileen Chang beautifully and movingly evokes 20th-century China and the hearts and minds of Chinese women".--Jung Chang, author of "Wild Swans".

Genres: Fiction, China, Chinese Literature, Literature, Asia

First published July 11, 1998

About the author

Eileen Chang is the English name for Chinese author 張愛玲, who was born to a prominent family in Shanghai (one of her great-grandfathers was Li Hongzhang) in 1920.

She went to a prestigious girls' school in Shanghai, where she changed her name from Chang Ying to Chang Ai-ling to match her English name, Eileen. Afterwards, she attended the University of Hong Kong, but had to go back to Shanghai when Hong Kong fell to Japan during WWII. While in Shanghai, she was briefly married to Hu Lancheng, the notorious Japanese collaborator, but later got a divorce.

After WWII ended, she returned to Hong Kong and later immigrated to the United States in 1955. She married a scriptwriter in 1956 and worked as a screenwriter herself for a Hong Kong film studio for a number of years, before her husband's death in 1967. She moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1972 and became a hermit of sorts during her last years. She passed away alone in her apartment in 1995.

Reviews

[吕不理 · Rating 5 out of 5]

在飞机上看完了。
长大后真的很喜欢张爱玲了，小时候反而觉得嗯不就那样。
研究生入学的笔试汉翻英就是她的琉璃瓦，从那时就觉得了张爱玲文字的敏锐感。有一些形容真的又抽象又贴切，冷酷又温情。

[lukoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

看得既壓抑又痛快。銀娣命苦，但現實也教她做了一個刻薄的女人，在大家族混跡，流言總能殺人，得學會自保，自己也往往成為流言的中心。一世為了現實守舊，幾家破幾家敗，生活就像是塊破布，扯著點零碎的來遮醜。張愛玲太會寫現實了。

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chinese version is way better.

[Ting Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

第一次讀張愛玲的作品，讓我很喜歡的是她對情感的細膩描寫，那種寫得出內心深處糾結與壓抑的筆法，讓人覺得是非親身經歷過、便寫不出來的真實感。《怨女》這本書讓我聯想到電影《大紅燈籠高高掛》，同樣聚焦於封建社會的壓抑與病態價值觀，描繪了一個時代下女性的命運與掙扎。書中有許多壓抑情感、為他人而活的掙扎、以及對面子的過度執著，深刻反映出當時社會的扭曲與無奈。我給這本書三點五顆星，沒有特別震撼，但也不失水準，就像看完一部質感細膩的小品電影。

This was my first time reading Eileen Chang, and I was drawn to her subtle, delicate portrayal of emotion. There’s a kind of emotional depth in her writing that feels so real—like something you can only express if you’ve actually lived through it. The Rouge of the North reminded me of the film Raise the Red Lantern. Both explore the suffocating traditions and twisted values of a feudal society, and the impact they have on women’s lives. The story is filled with suppressed feelings, the burden of living under others’ expectations, and the obsession with saving face—a very recognizable trait of traditional Chinese culture. I’d give it 3.5 stars. It didn’t shock me, but it didn’t disappoint either—like watching a quiet, beautifully crafted drama film.

[Melissa He · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the story of a Chinese woman called Yindi, who goes through an arranged marriage. At first, she is resigned to the marriage, but eventually she gets used to it and no longer expresses her resentment at her husband. The book also explores Yindi's relationships with her brother and his wife, and her other sister-in-laws, as well as her mother-in-law. It also includes a small affair that she secretly shares with her brother-in-law, who takes an interest in Yindi, much to her dismay.

This book was kind of boring because of it had extremely confusing language. I had to read it a few times before understanding just the gist of the text. This is probably because it was translated from Chinese. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone to read.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I ran out of time, but not sure if I will pick this book up again. Honestly, I have no idea what it was about. I think Eileen was smoking opium when she wrote this, just a mish mash of people I have no idea where one family ended and the next began.

oh well

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

picture into the life of upper-class women in china in the pre-civil war and war eras

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good exploration into the melancholy of life, but quite depressing. I think I'm a fan of Zhang Ailing's style though and this was a quick read.

[Mely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expansion of "The Golden Cangue" (in Love in a Fallen City); not as good as the original.

[Andrea Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favourite stories by Eileen Chang

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

怎么说呢 很drama 但又确实portray了something significant and new to me

Gives insight into some women at that time period (清朝末年 ~late 1890 to early 1900) -- mostly represented thru the main character -- being concubines, not even to men but to historically significant families; insignificant on their own, complaining about their poverty or mediocracy, chasing things of vanity and glory, going about the superficial relationships with those they have to spend every day with in the families they married into, birthing sons ideally, raising sons that grow up to become like the useless men in their lives, passing on the toxicity to their children's wives, finding none of the love their youthful selves dreamed of, oh and becoming opium addicts. Nice

It's a pretty new topic for me, and I enjoyed the read

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

整本書由女主角銀娣的一生貫穿主軸，開場由她青春年華，卻因家境貧困，兄嫂希望她能成為經濟來源，於是與媒婆說服她嫁入富貴人家作為她命運的開端。直到嫁給二爺才發現他是一個眼瞎半殘的駝子，成天足不出戶使身體更加衰弱，與銀娣萎靡不振的婚姻生活更是加速了他的死亡。銀娣在小說裡的形象是年輕又美麗，卻只能委身於這樣的男人，出生低下造成妯娌間的嫌隙，也遭受下人們的嘲諷與無視，紈絝子弟三爺更是時不時來調戲她，明明動了真情卻成了他的玩物，種種寂寞的情緒早已在她的內心種下怨恨的種子。

而三爺多年後來找她的場面，張愛玲用一種隱忍又情慾的寫作風格來呈現兩人之間那似有若無的曖昧，並大量運用場景中的環境物件襯托情感的流動，使人感覺既甜蜜又危險。雪景，電燈，玫瑰花酒，茶杯，火爐，坑床．．．都成了兩人情感的見證。銀娣內心累積出的自卑感隨著時間的推移，慢慢發展出一種深沉的怨懟，她的兒子玉熹成為她晚年情勒下最直接的對象，她不幸的婚姻，憋屈的命運，使她習慣性的去破壞他人任何幸福的可能。於是虐待自己的兒媳，如年輕時候的自己被人無視，她把自身的痛苦遭遇發洩在這些晚輩身上，並合理化自己的做法。

怨女前身為短篇小說金鎖記。這個書名更貼切的形容銀娣一輩子被困在金錢的枷鎖中。用青春換得金錢地位上的提升，而嫁給素未謀面的殘疾丈夫，卻因此受盡委屈，她內心也彷彿有一道沈重的枷鎖，情感上受到三爺的吸引，卻不容許自己放飛自我的去追愛。在金錢的使用上更是極度簡約苛刻，內心百般孤寂，卻一輩子守著那棟老房子足不出戶。在張愛玲清冷的筆調下，我作為讀者深深為怨女的哀戚心事感到悲傷。這本書沒有戲劇化的情節，卻能一再被字裡行間的情緒所震懾，也叫人反思在一百多年後的今天，或多或少，都有這麼一個怨女住在我們內心深處。

[Emma Ferguson]

the short stories mostly written after the japanese war and the revolution. I really didn’t like most of the ones in this collection as much as the first two, but can’t give an intelligent reason why. 怨女 is a rewrite of 金锁记, except this time instead of oppressing her daughter, the oppressed woman creates an oppressive son. The first story, 小艾, is from the point of view of a girl sold into slavery as a child, who tries to make a normal life for herself after marrying for love. There is also a wildly funny parody of “free romance” in the new era.

[Daniel Polansky]

A beautiful, lower class woman is turned into a dragon lady by the stultifying atmosphere of pre-revolution upper class Shanghai. Another of Chang's sharp, insightful works of fiction. A real talent.

[Grandpa Qing · Rating 5 out of 5]

苍凉的故事，努力了一辈子不知道为了什么，没有一个快乐的人。

[WastedTime · Rating 4 out of 5]

我喜欢的才女，如张爱玲，如林奕含，都是善用比喻的。即使是平淡生活之景，总能被她们写的悲凉宛转，使人竟觉恍如隔世。
读怨女，又加深我这一印象，然而作为一本短篇小说合集，我只是匆匆掠过，并未细致咀嚼。除色戒早已在多年前从别处看过以外，新读的几篇里最喜欢的是小艾和怨女。五四遗事次之，可未免觉得有些莫名其妙。对于最末两篇，我读来却觉乏味。这些故事，总归是离不开家长里短、旧年情怨，和时代洪流中被牺牲和遗忘掉的，可悲又可怜的人。

[Mediuschung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2016: 不討好的女主角，雖說命運與其作對，但他並未因此振作成就壯麗的故事，反而處處萎靡作賤自己，連自己都同自己作對，還求什麼憐憫？

自己嘅嫁妝要自己籌仲要受氣，身邊冇一個信得過嘅人，想要逃脫自己嘅命運，卻用自暴自棄嘅方式，改變嘅命運咪就係變差咗。頭三十年嘅可憐係命運作弄，後30年嘅可恨係係自取的。慘！

張氏寫文國初開女性嘅壓迫寫的相當細膩入肉，算係窺當時社會風氣。

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

《小艾》：真讽刺，六岁被卖作女佣、都忘了父母是谁的小艾是张爱玲笔下难得甚至有点积极的女性角色。
《五四遗事》：最后的三美团圆真的笑出声。
《相见欢》《浮花浪蕊》：里面的人物似乎有些关系，讲的内容也差不太多，不过一个在家里絮叨一个在船上回想，还是有些审美疲劳。
《色戒》：重读，剑拔弩张的氛围依然扣人心弦。
《同学少年都不贱》：时间线拉得这么长，可真是够残忍。
《怨女》：查了才知道是《金锁记》改写的，怪不得我总觉得情节熟悉。当初看到七巧为了拴儿子在家里，让他和自己一起抽大烟，觉得震惊又恶心，如今知道了情节，只觉得恶心，整篇小说都阴森森的。

[Estekke · Rating 4 out of 5]

色戒和怨女5星 怨女算是重写了金锁记？更好了
其他几篇倒是没有特别喜欢