A Discourse on the Moral Aspects of Women’s Behaviors in New Isan Literature
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Abstract
This research article aims to: 1) synthesize and categorize the discourse of “moral beauty of women” in new Isan literature, and 2) analyze this discourse from the perspective of critical discourse analysis (CDA). This study employs qualitative research, primarily focusing on documentary research with supplementary field research. The sample consists of 57 works of new Isan literature and 20 women or local scholars from the new Isan era, selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected using unstructured in-depth interviews and analyzed through content analysis.
The research findings indicate that: 1) There are eight forms of discourse on moral beauty forms : 1.1) Being a woman with kind and polite speech 1.2) Being a homemaker 1.3) Maintaining health and beauty 1.4) Being kind and compassionate toward relatives and friends 1.5) Exhibiting proper manners and etiquette 1.6) Possessing moral integrity 1.7) Being grateful and dutiful to parents 1.8) Being honest and trustworthy 2) The study, from a critical discourse analysis perspective, identifies three linguistic strategies that convey the ideology of “moral beauty of women”.: 2.1) Discourse as an index of gender identity 2.2) Gender discourse and linguistic style 2.3) The construction of identity and gender ideology These strategies highlight the core ideology of the “new Isan woman” as “competent and virtuous”, while a secondary ideology, “the ideal wife”, also emerges. These ideological constructs influence the social practices of new Isan women, allowing them to adapt and integrate these principles into their lives. Ultimately, these ideologies function as a socially constructed guide that enhances the confidence of new Isan women in their roles and identities.
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