The Third Wife

Every culture in the world has one thing in common, and it’s the way they abuse and objectify its women. In Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife, attention is paid to the late 19^th century Vietnam, as fourteen-year-old May (Nguyễn Phương Trà My) is given to the wealthy and affluent Hung (Vũ Long) as his third wife by her father to pay a debt.

Accepting her fate in this arranged marriage, May begins to understand her place in the hierarchy of wives and quickly learns how she can quickly move up the ladder by providing Hung another son. May’s prayers may be answered as she quickly becomes pregnant.

The Third Wife is less a soap opera of catfights between Hung’s wives, but more an understanding of the life and plight of being bought and sold along with the servitude of being a woman in that time and place. One would think this story is about the horrible, abusive, husband, but he is only a minor character. This is May’s story of independence beginning as a young girl, experiencing her first night with Hung, and the bloodstained sheet is prominently displayed showing that she lost her virginity. All seminal events sealing her destiny forever.

“…fourteen-year-old May is given to the wealthy and affluent Hung as his third wife…”

But what place does real love have in May’s heart? Secretly, May is clearly not in love with Hung but relishes the idea of providing him a son. May is infatuated though with Hung’s second wife, Xuan (Mai Thu Hường). This love is complicated by the fact that Xuan is having an affair with Hung’s firstborn son (Nguyễn Thành Tâm Lâm). I suppose this is where the soap opera begins.