中國傳統社會的倫理規範，既維繫了大一統社會的安定，也制約了女性的發展空間，在男尊女卑，以男權為中心思想的社會氛圍中，女性始終扮演著無聲、附屬的角色，因此失去了個體意識與獨立的人格。但在魏晉時代，清談玄學興起，崇尚老莊、本任自然，與此同時，魏晉女性亦受到深刻影響，展現了與前代迥然不同的風貌。《世說新語》集中記載了一群與傳統婦女形象迥然不同的女性，這些婦女受到了魏晉南北朝社會風氣、政治、文化、經濟、民族融合等不同因素的影響，而出現了女性意識自覺的現象。《世說新語．賢媛》中的女性形象的表現：或言語犀利，或才華橫溢，或見識超群，或剛強機敏，走出內室不避男女，踰越禮教任情而動，具有和男子相抗衡的才智和膽識，並且為男子所讚賞。雖然《世說新語》中所記載的婦女群體是大都是受教育的上層社會的婦女，但卻也能從中窺知許多魏晉南北朝婦女的生活概況。

The standard of behavior and the code of conduct in China did keep the society stable, yet they imposed a great deal of restrictions for the female. In a social system in which the male gender role was the primary authority, the male headship and female subordination were very common, and thus the female's individualism and independence were not in existence. During the Period of Disunity lasting from 220 to 589 AD, the witty conversation or debates about metaphysics and philosophy among the educated elite was popular, the people upheld Taoism and let everything take its own course, and many females were affected by the trend. The book ”Shishou Xinyn” portrayed a group of women who were quite different from other women in the society. Those women exposed themselves to the social norms, standard of behavior, code of conduct, politics, culture, economics, and ethnic issues daily, and they gradually developed their women's consciousness.The women depicted in the Hsien-Yuan chapter of the book ”Shishou Xinyn” spoke assertively, had superb insight; moreover, they were talented, firm, and agile. Those women interacted with men more liberally, went beyond the social norms, and exercised more of their free will. Their intelligence, valor, and judgement were as good as men; as a result, they were loved and respected by men. Although those upper-class and well-educated women were only a small fraction of the society, nevertheless we can get a glimpse of how some women at the Period of Disunity lived their daily livings.