Tale Of Genji Analysis

Limitations of the Tale of Genji in Contemporary Readership In the ancient Heian period of Japan, The Tale of Genji arose as one of the first and most influential novels that depicted the ins and outs of life in the Heian court. The author of this novel, Murusaki Shikibu, was able to present the work to the people of the royal Heian court regardless of the fact that she was not meant to have vast knowledge of the written, Chinese language. During the Heian period, women were not the primary concern for expanding the knowledge of the people, but Murusaki was able to gain this knowledge only by listening to lessons that were meant for her brother and was, much to the disappointment of her father, able to learn the Chinese language much faster
During this time period men held most if not all of the power in the court while women were not allowed to hold political positions with authority. Men were meant to learn a variety of topics in Japanese as well as in Chinese, whereas women were confined to learning poetry in Japanese only as Chinese was more suitable for those with political positions. All mentions of women in The Tale of Genji have them playing some sort of role in Genji’s love affairs. As a modern day reader of this traditional Japanese literature, it can become difficult to read of these women seemingly serving little purpose throughout the storyline and trying to keep an open mind to remember that this was the norm. That this was not unusual and that there was a lack of political power for women at the
Where his actions would have been charming in adopting Murusaki and grooming her to become his wife, through the eyes of the modern reader they are disturbing at best. The Tale of Genji certainly earned its place as a masterpiece of literature in the Heian period but has since lost its appeal with the changing societal norms that readers conform