In traditional, paternalistic Chinese society, women were often victimized--abandoned by husbands, maltreated by mothers-in-law .... With no place to turn, such women had only two choices: They could either wait for their tormentor to die and, hopefully, be punished in hell, or the woman could become a ghost and take revenge while their tormentor was still living in the mundane world.
中國筆記小說中女鬼特別多，也因為在傳統父系社會中，女性經常受到不公的對待，像是遭男性遺棄、遭婆婆虐待等。在找不到出路之下，除了以「壞人死後被打入地獄」安慰自己；變成厲鬼，直接報仇雪冤更是大快人心。