Ethical Narrative and Moral Choices in the Self-Reliance Literary Group (Tự Lực văn đoàn): Reconfiguring Modern Subjectivity in Vietnamese Fiction of the 1930s

This article examines the fiction of the Self-Reliance Literary Group as a form of ethical narrative in which modern subjectivity is constituted through processes of moral choice rather than through the affirmation of predefined ethical norms. Moving beyond approaches that interpret these works primarily in terms of individual liberation or social reform, the study argues that the ethical significance of the Self-Reliance Literary Group’s narratives lies in their capacity to stage moral dilemmas, ethical hesitation, and responsibility within the specific historical context of colonial modernity in Vietnam during the 1930 s. Drawing on narrative ethics and literary ethical criticism, the article analyzes how ethical meaning is generated not only through characters’ actions and decisions but also through narrative form, including open endings, shifts in focalization, and the deliberate suspension of moral judgment. These narrative strategies invite readers to participate in ethical reflection rather than to accept fixed moral conclusions. By situating Vietnamese modern fiction within broader debates on ethical narrative and moral reasoning, this study contributes to the reconfiguration of ethical criticism from a comparative and non-Western perspective, highlighting the discursive potential of Vietnamese literature in global discussions of narrative ethics.