A Contemporary Critique on Murasaki Shikibu's the Tale of Genji

14 Feb 2012 A Contemporary Critique on Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji The Heian court and the social structure it provided is a compelling aspect of Japanese history. The 21st century reader is intrigued by such an era and its artistic representations because the general norms, collective conscious, and interpersonal relationships seem to be in clear contrast with the social practices of today. At face value, it appears that Murasaki Shikibu’s discontentment with the aforementioned characteristics of court life manifested itself within the pages of The Tale of Genji. The acclaimed Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov once stated, “A masterpiece of fiction is an original world and as such is not likely to fit the world of the reader.” Thus, although Murasaki Shikibu’s work is deeply rooted in exposing the pretense associated with Heian court social rank, marriage practices, and feminine submissiveness, she managed to create a world for Genji which tested the limits of his emotional threshold and, by default, relatable with modern/epic protagonists. Moreover, because the modern audience can at times feel sympathetic toward Genji by relating to his emotional range (i.e grief through ecstasy) and psychological abnormalities, The Tale of Genji’s status as a timeless masterpiece is merited. Had Genji been a detached lover with no emotional and psychological depth, Murasaki Shikibu’s work and reputation would not have seen the light of day outside of the court she was heavily critiquing. This essay will compare the qualities depicted in The Tale of Genji with other works that are highly regarded as masterpieces while shedding light on the differences which can be seen as a more direct jab at Heian readership. There is a notion in philosophical theory that is used to show that the ‘robber and the robbed’ share a mutual existence dictated by past events. Their meeting, the robbery, is the climax of their distinct lifelong plots. The idea that

Cited: Lawall, Sarah et al. The Norton Anthology Of Western Literature: The Ancient World Through The Renaissance. W W Norton & Co Inc, 2005. Seidensticker, Edward trans.  The Tale of Genji (Abridged version) (New York: Random House,  1976).