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Love in Vietnamese Poetry 3
True love is always accompanied by the essential element of respect. In the Vietnamese tradition, husband and wife respect each other as honored guests—regarding each other as two precious guests—in order to maintain elegance, politeness, and to preserve love so that it does not become fractured. Thay uses the image of a nun as Snow White, carefully protected by the commander of the army of love; each person must be a solid refuge for the one they love, not allowing any coarse gesture to harm their love.
In The Tale of Kieu, the scene where Kim Trong and Thuy Kieu become betrothed and make vows still preserves many lessons about respect:
- Thuy Kieu reminds, “Now that we see each other clearly, who knows if later this will all be but a dream”—affirming the value of each other’s presence.
- When love shows signs of slackening, Kieu immediately asks Kim Trong to sit up straight, to maintain propriety so that “tomorrow we will not lose each other.”
Love, friendship, or the relationship between parent and child all need to be fully recognized today; otherwise, they will be nothing but a dream.
