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The Tale of Genji
I’ve been carrying around Genji for maybe a week now; hesitating to resume. Today I finally started and was overwhelmed with all the names and connections. Hard to recall who is whose real father/son and how many of the women are married to Genji. Genji’s secret son, the emperor, has suddenly abdicated and now Murasaki it asking to become a nun. It seems like all these people could save themselves a lot of trouble and social climbing if they simply became nuns and monks at the start. Though their social lives do seem like a great deal of pointless work.P620 New Herbs - The Rokujo Lady is quite a character. Isn’t this the second of Genji’s women she has “possessed” and nearly killed? His first wife she did kill. Again (I believe) I wonder if this was a common belief at the time or merely a literary flourish? Are there any common illnesses that could pass for possession? A high fever or consumption of some unexpected poison might do this. Or could this be an interpretation of a mental condition? HERE is something about this story. It tells the story but doesn’t answer my questions about what their basis might have been.
This is an interesting section of the book. All of Genji’s “seductions” sound more like rape to modern ears and now Genji’s best friend’s oldest son has “seduced” the pathetic (but pretty) young wife Genji has been saddled with. And Genji has found out. He’s actually being quite good about it, though he does give Kashiwagi, who knows he knows, a very subtle hard time. This has apparently undermined Kashiwagi’s health. (And the Third Princess is pregnant). So he already has a brother who is actually his son and will now have a child who is not related to him at all. He did, however, steal one of his friend’s natural daughters just to make the connections between these two families all the more complicated.
I had also forgotten that he has taken over the residence of the dead lady who is now demonically possessing Murasaki. Or trying to. At the moment she seems to be trapped in a medium. That would be an interesting part to play if this were a film and the medium was an established character (which isn’t really the case here.)
Evening Mist
Yugiri, Genji’s son, has been presented as “better” than the rest in terms of his behavior toward women but, alas, Murasaki has lead us astray. It’s true he hasn’t actually raped the Second Princess (his dead best friend’s widow) but he has ruined her reputation as well as his own. Murasaki seems to be revealing him as, if anything, worse than his father in the complications resulting from his actions.
Though it has to be recalled that his friend, Kashiwagi, also has a lot to answer for as he forced himself on, and impregnated, the Third Princess, Genji’s wife, which led to his death and the widowhood of the Second Princess. Being an Emperor’s daughter doesn’t get you much, it seems. And their father really went out of his way trying to protect them.
(From some time ago now) I’m having a really hard time getting back into Genji. I mean hard. I’ve been carrying it around but still haven’t read a page. I have to finish it. *Doesn’t go for the book*
Early Ferns
The tale of the two most annoying Japanese princesses continues. They make Fanny Price seem like a libertine. I mean, Fanny actually speaks to people! What next?
The Ivy
I’ll give the author of this part of the work credit for Kaoru’s natural perfume. When it was first mentioned I thought it was simply a way of giving a character a quality even above that of Genji, but it works into the story so often. Surprising the ignorant and making it impossible for Kaoru to conceal his presence -- or recent presence -- from those in the know. Still, he seems something of an ass compared to Genji, and I’m not exactly fond of Genji.
The Eastern Cottage
Kaoru, it would seem, will not be happy until he ruins the lives of all the Prince’s daughters. The one he fell for starved herself to death, he “married” her sister to Niou who has now married another princess. Now a third, half, sister turns up and Kaoru has carried her off just as Genji did with Murasaki. I do long for a Lydia. Actually there was a sort of Lydia but we lost track of her long ago. No one was very interested in her interest in men. It would almost seem that there would have been a kind of protection in being thought to be an adventurous woman. Now that would have been an interesting character to read.
I’ve finally found a good article about rape and marriage in The Tale of Genji (HERE ) This was really interesting. I hadn’t actually thought about Kaoru dooming the eldest sister, but it is true. But what does it mean that Kaoru, with morals that transcend (in sometimes destructive ways) those of his times, has that distinctive odor? Also, I recognize this logic of sexual responsibility from my own youth. My Ôigimi was not better pleased by my reticence. Now that’s something I didn’t expect to find in The Tale of Genji.
Still, it’s curious that the Western chaperone tradition was so much more effective -- not just the older relations but saddling the girl with younger siblings or cousins. I’m not sure even Genji would be able to get around a bunch of kids.
Thinking about this piece, I’m not so sure about some of this. Besides the rape of Oborozukiyo that the author alludes to, there are similar rapes of women who are supposed to be protected by powerful men: Genji of his father’s favorite wife and Kashiwagi of Genji’s princess. Not to mention Niou seducing Kaoru's Ukifune.
P994 Well this at least is new. Having now been literally carried off by both Kaoru and Niou, Ukifune finds herself trapped in a Country Western Song -- caught between two loves. Take that Lydia. Or should I say Elizabeth -- imagine if Elizabeth had been lovers with both Darcy and Wickham? Wait, this is really more like Bridgit Jones, now that I think of it.
P1006 Kaoru has discovered that Niou is after his daughter of the Eighth Prince so, obviously, Kaoru is regretting not moving on Niou’s wife, the other surviving daughter of the Eighth Prince. Everyone, or at least Niou and Ukifune, are rendered ill by desire or indecision. Which reminds me a bit of Mrs Bennett. Someone could write something interesting on the origin of illness in The Tale of Genji. (And of course, someone has, see HERE but this doesn’t cover the love angle. The “mother love” angle is interesting though. ) And HERE is another one, even more disappointing. The other one goes in one direction, this one doesn’t really go anywhere.
The Drake Fly
No, Ukifune doesn’t starve herself to death like her half sister, she drowns herself in the river. It’s suggested, or at least Kaoru thinks, all this is because he was drawn back into life after first associating with the Eighth Prince because of religion. The Buddha has caused these half sisters to die to teach him a lesson. Religious thinking is so odd. There’s also the other interpretation, that all this has happened because he isn’t man enough to force himself on these women and then take care of them as wives or concubines.
Niou, of course, was a more immediate cause of this girl’s death and he is more torn up about it. I would compare him to Willoughby and Kaoru to Brandon. That works even better as Kaoru is the “general” while Brandon is the “colonel”. The parallels between Austen and Murasaki are really amazing.
So now I’ve searched on “the tale of genji and jane austen” and found I’m not the only one to note the similarities, but many people describe Murasaki as a combination of Austen and Proust. That one doesn’t leap out at me.
The chapter ends with both butterflies sniffing other blooms, but both still rather obsessed with the 3rd daughter. It’s curious that Kaoru is now taken with the sister of both his princess wife and of Niou while Niou is still “ill” over the loss of his wife’s half-sister. Of course Kaoru is also still interested in the surviving daughter of the Eighth Prince who is also Niou’s wife. It’s a very incestuous little circle. (And I think Kaoru and Niou are thought to be related but they actually aren’t, but I could be wrong about that. At least they aren’t related through Genji, which the world thinks is the case. Actually that could be wrong too as there’s an ex-emperor who is actually Genji’s son and I’ve lost track of his offspring.)
At Writing Practice
Alas, it seems Ukifune wasn’t even able to drown herself properly. And this is the girl our two heroes are so smitten with. She has now been carted off by a bishop and some nuns. I did wonder when no body was found. We were assured the river would carry the body to the sea. Now who’s going to fall in love with her? As if she doesn’t already have too many lovers.
I was right. Someone caught a glimpse of her hair and is now besotted. I’m reminded of a line from "Ten Things I Hate About You", “What is with this chick? She have beer flavored nipples?” I don’t think the line is from Shakespeare.
The Floating Bridge of Dreams
P1090 It’s over. She was not molested a third time, I’m surprised to report, but the ending leaves everything up in the air. I thought Kaoru might join Ukifune in taking vows. I thought he and Niou might come to blows or take their respective complaints to the Empress. But nothing. Kaoru has learned that Ukifune still lives and tried to make contact with her, sending one of her young brothers he had taken in his service, but the girl still refuses to admit anything or speak to anyone. She is universally annoying.
After a thousand and ninety pages you do expect some kind of resolution to the story. I suppose we have to suppose that the Tale reflects life itself in not having a proper conclusion. At least it is over and I never have to read it again.
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