Tale Of Genji Literary Analysis
Wendell Fleming
The Tale of Genji Paper
10/5/11
The great theme of The Tale of Genji is the success or failure to regain one's birthright. Chapters 1-33 are a success story in which a main male hero, Prince Genji, becomes an Emperor emeritus and thus regains his birthright as the son of an Emperor. Chapters 34-41 chronicle the breakdown of the success story of the previous chapters by addressing the potentiality of failure in Prince Genji's marriages, and in his relationships with his children, other women, and some other men. The final Chapters 44-54 are a story of failure to live up to one's birthright. The style of writing practiced by the sole author of The Tale of Genji , Lady Murasaki Shikibu, is one of increasing degrees of irony, …show more content…
This list is not exhaustive. Being a biological mother in The Tale of Genji gives rise to the spectre of serious failure. The discussions below are not included in other published versions of this text: 3.Yugao, mother of Tamakazura4.Rokujo Miyasundokoro, mother of Akikonomu5.Aoi, mother of Yugiri6.Akashi Lady, mother of the …show more content…
But Heian Japan was already a patriarchal society by the time lady Murasaki wrote The Tale of Genji. In her fiction, particularly, it would be necessary for children of both sexes to be appropriated by males who act after the fashion of a matriarchically determined world. The patriarch is contained within the matriarch and males take on female roles. This is particularly true for appropriated female children. The Akashi princess, Genji's only true biological daughter, is the best example of this. When the Akashi lady moves from Akashi to her villa in Oi, Genji substitutes himself as mother. He then removes the child to the Rokujo no in and sees that Murasaki no ue brings her up to assume a role that are in keeping with Genji's politics of recapturing the throne. Genji becomes Akikonomu's mother after Rokujo's death in order to ensure that she marries his true biological son Reizei and carry out his political ambition to rule the Imperial
The Tale of Genji Paper
10/5/11
The great theme of The Tale of Genji is the success or failure to regain one's birthright. Chapters 1-33 are a success story in which a main male hero, Prince Genji, becomes an Emperor emeritus and thus regains his birthright as the son of an Emperor. Chapters 34-41 chronicle the breakdown of the success story of the previous chapters by addressing the potentiality of failure in Prince Genji's marriages, and in his relationships with his children, other women, and some other men. The final Chapters 44-54 are a story of failure to live up to one's birthright. The style of writing practiced by the sole author of The Tale of Genji , Lady Murasaki Shikibu, is one of increasing degrees of irony, …show more content…
This list is not exhaustive. Being a biological mother in The Tale of Genji gives rise to the spectre of serious failure. The discussions below are not included in other published versions of this text: 3.Yugao, mother of Tamakazura4.Rokujo Miyasundokoro, mother of Akikonomu5.Aoi, mother of Yugiri6.Akashi Lady, mother of the …show more content…
But Heian Japan was already a patriarchal society by the time lady Murasaki wrote The Tale of Genji. In her fiction, particularly, it would be necessary for children of both sexes to be appropriated by males who act after the fashion of a matriarchically determined world. The patriarch is contained within the matriarch and males take on female roles. This is particularly true for appropriated female children. The Akashi princess, Genji's only true biological daughter, is the best example of this. When the Akashi lady moves from Akashi to her villa in Oi, Genji substitutes himself as mother. He then removes the child to the Rokujo no in and sees that Murasaki no ue brings her up to assume a role that are in keeping with Genji's politics of recapturing the throne. Genji becomes Akikonomu's mother after Rokujo's death in order to ensure that she marries his true biological son Reizei and carry out his political ambition to rule the Imperial