Characters
Bich
Bich is a peasant whom Chinh appoints to co-manage land reform in Que's village. He is entirely unfit for this role. Prior to his promotion by Chinh, Bich was a drifter, moving from village to village aimlessly. He was dismissed from the French Colonial Army due to his drunken behavior. Despite his good looks, Bich is lazy, although he is skilled at flattering the village elders. After Chinh elevates him, he temporarily gains respect in the village by parroting revolutionary slogans he has learned. However, he brings only injustice to his role, lacking any real wisdom. Following the Rectification of Errors, he leaves the village and fades into obscurity.
The Bohemian
The Bohemian is the nickname Hang gives to a Vietnamese student she meets in Moscow at Khoa's apartment. He is attractive and charming, reminding Hang of a character named Yen Thanh the Bohemian from a film she once saw. She also recalls that he was one of the students who used to tease her at university. The Bohemian criticizes Chinh for the corruption within the Communist Party and shows great kindness to Hang. He provides her with money, helps secure her an exit visa, and pays for her airfare to Vietnam. Although she doesn't know him long enough to develop a romantic relationship, his kindness and "his confident, youthful smile" symbolize the possibility of love and happiness that seems beyond Hang's reach.
Aunt Chinh
Aunt Chinh is the wife of Uncle Chinh. Like her husband, she is a Communist Party official and teaches at a school operated by the Communist Youth League. Hang hears from friends that Aunt Chinh is neurotic and often bullies her students, losing her temper without reason. She has limited education, having completed only two courses designed "for workers and peasants," but due to her long-term loyalty to the party, she eventually becomes the dean of the philosophy department at the school.
Uncle Chinh
Uncle Chinh is Que's brother and Hang's uncle. He is a year younger than Que. In his youth, he joins the Viet Bac, the anti-French resistance movement in the north. Later, he becomes part of the Liberation Army that expels the French from Vietnam. After the war, Chinh becomes a Communist Party official and returns to his village to oversee land reform. He proves to be narrow-minded and selfish, unable to see beyond his adopted ideology. He treats his sister cruelly, forbidding her from speaking to her husband and advising her not to associate with former landowners, including her sister-in-law, fearing it might harm his career in the party. Chinh's main ambition is to climb the ranks of the communist hierarchy, but he remains a party hack. He eventually marries, has two children, and becomes a cadre responsible for ideological education in Quang Ninh province. He continues to try to control his sister, urging her to accept a job in a factory. Her work as a street trader embarrasses him and hinders his career, as he views it as a sign of bourgeoisie. Despite Que's efforts to defend and please her brother, neighbor Vi bluntly states, "God, he's a real little tyrant, that brother of yours." Hang also knows the truth about her uncle and dislikes him. When she discovers his illicit black market trading during official party trips to Moscow and how he manipulated her into visiting by feigning illness, she feels ashamed of their association. In Moscow, Chinh is reduced to doing domestic work for a group of Vietnamese students who hold him in contempt. When Hang first sees her uncle there, he looks ridiculous, wearing an apron...
(This entire section contains 1949 words.)
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and a pair of women's house slippers.
Madame Dua
Madame Dua is an elderly woman who serves as a maid in Aunt Tam's house. She is also a distant relative of Hang and Tam. Although born into a wealthy family, she fell on hard times, and Aunt Tam took her in after finding her begging on the street.
Duong
Duong is the vice president of Aunt Tam's village. The villagers dislike him because he abuses his power. He has people arrested for criticizing him and seizes a plot of farmland from a widow, leaving her with nothing. The widow eventually takes revenge, killing him with a single blow of a hammer.
Mr. Hai
Mr. Hai is one of the Vietnamese students in Moscow who employs Chinh for domestic help.
Hang
Hang, the daughter of Ton and Que, serves as the story's narrator. Raised by her mother in the impoverished streets of Hanoi, she grows up unaware of her father's identity, as her mother refuses to disclose it. Hang's childhood is marked by loneliness and sorrow, and it is only when she nears ten years old that she discovers the truth about her father. Around this time, she also meets her uncle Chinh for the first time. Hang is a sensitive and contemplative child, uncertain of her place in society. To her, life feels directionless and devoid of purpose. Her confusion is exacerbated by a complicated family dynamic that she did not create. Her Aunt Tam lavishes her with affection and gifts, causing a rift between Hang and her mother, who cannot afford such luxuries.
Despite these challenges, Hang is exceptionally bright and excels in school. She successfully passes her college entrance exams, and her aunt ensures she can attend college. However, Hang abandons her studies after her mother loses a leg in an accident. She takes a job in Russia, working in a textile factory to send money home. During this time, she visits her Uncle Chinh twice, despite resenting his attempts to involve her in his black market dealings.
As a young woman, Hang faces decisions about her future. She rejects the traditional subservient role expected of women in Vietnamese culture, a role she sees her mother embody. She also chooses not to follow her late Aunt Tam's wishes by refusing to live in the house she inherited from her. Determined to carve out her own path, Hang dreams of returning to university and traveling abroad.
Mr. Khoa
Mr. Khoa is a second-year Vietnamese graduate student studying biology at Lomonosov University in Moscow. His apartment is a hub for Chinh's activities and a residence for other Vietnamese students. Khoa is known for frequently inviting prostitutes to his room.
The Man in Train
The Man in the Train, identifiable by his pug nose and silver-capped teeth, is Hang's companion on her journey to Moscow. A kind and protective older man, he defends Hang from two aggressive young men who harass her on the train. Upon arriving in Moscow, he holds her hand as they navigate the train station together.
Nan
Nan is a large peasant woman plagued by gluttony. Before her husband passed away, he would beat her for selling some of their rice to buy snacks and sweets. She also had a habit of pilfering around the village. When Chinh inexplicably appoints Nan, along with Bich, to oversee land reform in the village, she misuses her authority. She decides to live in Aunt Tam's confiscated house, sharing it with Bich, but she neglects its upkeep. Following the Rectification of Errors, Nan ends up living on the outskirts of the village. According to Tam, "[s]he's just a sack of meat and filthy rags."
Nhieu
Nhieu is Hang's grandmother. During the land reform, she is publicly denounced and forced to kneel before the entire village. In a subsequent denunciation session, she and Hang's Aunt Tam are compelled to squat in a deep pit. This humiliation leads to her falling ill and eventually dying.
Que
Que is Chinh's sister and Hang's mother. Due to the animosity caused by her brother, Que leaves her native village and relocates to Hanoi, where she raises Hang in a slum, scraping by as a street vendor. Her husband has passed away. To Hang, her mother's life seems wasted, filled with sorrow and lacking purpose. Que's life is largely controlled by her brother, who treats her cruelly while pretending to act in her best interests. Though she resists Chinh's attempt to get her to work in a factory, she remains emotionally attached to him, as he is her only surviving close family member. Que resents Aunt Tam, her late husband's sister, for trying to win Hang's affection, leading to emotional distance between Que and her daughter for a time. Que finds new purpose by seeking acceptance from Chinh and his family, lavishing gifts on her two young nephews, and even dressing like her sister-in-law to gain favor. When Chinh falls ill with diabetes, Que goes hungry to send him money for medicine. After Que is struck by a car and loses a leg, she and Hang reconcile briefly, but this does not last. Following a quarrel, Que asks Hang to leave the house. Later, after Hang returns from Russia, they reconcile once more. However, they become estranged again when Hang stays in Aunt Tam's village for over three months after her aunt's death instead of returning to her mother in Hanoi, a decision that angers Que.
Aunt Tam
Aunt Tam is Hang's aunt and Ton's sister. She is an educated, proud, aloof, strong-willed, and determined woman. Despite being publicly denounced and having her property seized, her spirit remains unbroken. Aunt Tam possesses immense physical and mental strength, working tirelessly for years to rebuild her wealth after her property is returned. She never marries and holds a deep-seated grudge against Chinh, whom she blames for her brother's death. As a traditionalist, she values ancient rituals and considers family bonds sacred. She mourns deeply for her deceased brother and showers Hang with love and gifts, as Hang is her closest blood relative. Tam takes Hang in as a surrogate daughter while harboring disdain and ultimately hatred for Que, Hang's mother and Chinh's sister. Tam blames Que for Hang's need to go to Russia to support her mother. Upon her death, Tam leaves her house to Hang, hoping she will live there to uphold family traditions and maintain the ancestral altar.
Thu
Thu is Hang's childhood playmate. She is a mean-spirited girl who lies without shame. One day, they go out to play without Thu's mother's permission. When they are caught, Thu blames Hang, causing Hang to get scolded by Thu's mother.
Ton
Ton, Que's husband, was an educated man who worked as a schoolteacher. According to his sister, Tam, he could read French fluently by the age of twelve. Ton married Que, but shortly after their wedding, he was denounced by Chinh because his family employed farm laborers. Unable to bear the public humiliation, Ton fled. He eventually settled in a Muong minority region, marrying again and becoming the son-in-law of the village vice president. After six years, he visited Que in Hanoi, and they conceived Hang. However, Ton's wife forbade him from visiting Que again. Overwhelmed by shame once more, Ton drowned himself in a river.
Tu
Tu is the younger son of Uncle and Aunt Chinh. He is three years old when Hang first meets him.
Tuan
Tuan is the son of Uncle and Aunt Chinh. He is seven years old when Hang first meets him.
Madame Vera
Madame Vera is the caretaker of the dormitory where Hang lives in Russia. She is an elderly Russian war widow. Although she can be harsh at times, Hang mentions that she is kind and affectionate towards her, even lending Hang one of her handmade shawls to keep warm on the trip to Moscow.
Neighbor Vi
Neighbor Vi lives next to Que and Hang in Hanoi. She is the one individual Que truly considers a friend. Vi is a nurturing woman, brimming with practical wisdom and sound advice.
