Remembering Mr. Wu You

The short story: “Remembering Mr. Wu You” by Ge Fei encompasses several elements that compare and contrast the gender roles of the male and female. The male must be well-built to possess leadership qualities and dominance over others. The story not only describes a patriarchal society and how females are constantly objectified throughout the story but also provides evidence of ancient Chinese culture and practices and how these practices cross with gender.

This story takes a rather traditional standpoint on the view of gender. The opening scene is a description of the three police officers in uniform and the woman officer happens to be wearing a skirt. For the entirety of the story, she is known as the “skirt-clad female partner” showing how skirts are associated with only women. The primary example of masculinity or a man in the story is the village headman. Right before he and Mr. Wu You were about to engage in combat, “the headman stripped to the waist and hung his shirt in the crotch of a nearby tree, exposing a muscular chest tanned the color of bark.” Mr. Wu You was armed with a seven-inch razor blade whereas the village headman had nothing but his fists and muscles. The image of this brawny male easily maneuvering around the swinging weapon of the frail and brittle Mr. Wu You and pounding him to a bloody pulp with his bare firsts just shows how males settle the tension whereas females may choose to talk it out or settle it without physical actions instead. A description of the village headman by one of the village women in the story follows as: “He had secured his position as headman not by grasping the essentials of forest-fire prevention or by practicing the art of divination but by virtue of a robust, muscular body and a broad, menacing forehead. He was a mighty lion.” He received his title as “the village headman” not because he was skilled but because of the way he looked and what he offered aesthetically.

“Remembering Mr. Wu You” definitely reinforces the patriarchal ideology. Women in the story are objectified. When the woman in the beginning of the story runs to notify the entire village that Mr. Wu You is going to be shot later that day, everyone watches her run. Most of the younger fellows aren’t even paying attention to what she is saying; instead they are mesmerized