There once was a woman who lived in North Vietnam with her husband. One day he left to fight overseas when the woman was pregnant. She missed him so much that she waited for him every day outside on the cliffs overlooking the land and sea, holding their child. No matter what the weather, she remained outside waiting for her warrior husband to return home, in the storms, sun, and the rain, but he still did not return. So as she waited and waited until finally, she turned into stone, and is still waiting alone at the top of the cliff.
The informant first heard of this legend from his mother when he was living in Vietnam at the age of about ten or twelve. His loved his mother and followed her around everywhere and she would tell him stories about Vietnam and how it was created and about famous people or events in the past. The day his mother told him this legend he was complaining about having to walk outside when it was extremely hot and humid, even more so than normal. This is when she told him of the woman who would wait outside no matter what, heat or cold, just to see her husband again. The informant believes this legend is a story that serves as a model to Vietnamese women, telling them that they must remain strong and loyal to the central nit of life in Vietnam, which is the family. It is the woman’s job to hold the family together when the father is out trying to earn money to feed the family. He retells this legend primarily just to little children, as a form of entertainment and to keep them quiet and attentive during family gatherings.
This rock is called “the Statue of the Awaiting Wife” and is very famous among the Vietnamese people. It represents the strength and perseverance of the Vietnamese woman, as well as the loyalty and dedication that she contributes to the family. Though it is hard to say whether or not the rock exists and really used to be a dedicated woman and her child waiting for their father and husband to return home, it is a form of Vietnamese folklore that has been passed down through the generations for so long that it is almost accepted as true, and that is the reason why it is continued to be told and retold. I also think that in many Vietnamese legends, there are many things involved with nature and this story represents it, that we are a part of nature so it would be natural for a human to turn into stone. The stone also represents strength and resistance, as the woman was strong and persistent as she waited for her husband to return home.