Comparing Sappho And Murasaki
Sappho and Murasaki were women before their time in the ways of their writings. Sappho was from an isle called Lesbos in Ancient Greece. Murasaki was from a city in Japan called Heian-kyo (Arita, 2008. para 3) during the Heian Period, currently called Kyoto. Each of these ladies came from prominent families and had a more robust life than other women in their time. There was more advantages for women who came from well to do families. Even though Sappho and Murasaki were women from different time periods, change would not hurt in the treatment of women; in fact it makes stronger and successful women. Sappho was a woman of Ancient Greece that history sees as a mystery. Her life is a mystery because not much is known about her or her poems
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Like Sappho, Murasaki was a mystery because her real name was not known. During the Heian Period, “real names of noblewomen were not usually known; Murasaki Shikibu was actually the author's nickname in court circles in The Tale of Genji” (Arita, 2008, para. 7). Women of the Heian period also had a social position to uphold for the sake of family, something in Ancient Greece would not even been heard. A woman would not be seen outside the house or for that matter even give her point of view on a situation. Noblewomen from Japan and women from Ancient Greece had another difference in their time periods. Ancient Greece women did not have law that required them to have their face covered if they were not in the presence of their own family. The noblewomen were to be a mystery to the men they were to marry, even if it was an arranged marriage between the fathers of the families. In Ancient Greece the fathers also arranged their daughter’s weddings to an ideal suitor. Another similarity that both eras have is polygamy for the men in their marriages. The men of Japan had many wives and their wives would live with her parents. In Ancient Greece the men also had many wives, but would travel from house to house to be with the different
Like Sappho, Murasaki was a mystery because her real name was not known. During the Heian Period, “real names of noblewomen were not usually known; Murasaki Shikibu was actually the author's nickname in court circles in The Tale of Genji” (Arita, 2008, para. 7). Women of the Heian period also had a social position to uphold for the sake of family, something in Ancient Greece would not even been heard. A woman would not be seen outside the house or for that matter even give her point of view on a situation. Noblewomen from Japan and women from Ancient Greece had another difference in their time periods. Ancient Greece women did not have law that required them to have their face covered if they were not in the presence of their own family. The noblewomen were to be a mystery to the men they were to marry, even if it was an arranged marriage between the fathers of the families. In Ancient Greece the fathers also arranged their daughter’s weddings to an ideal suitor. Another similarity that both eras have is polygamy for the men in their marriages. The men of Japan had many wives and their wives would live with her parents. In Ancient Greece the men also had many wives, but would travel from house to house to be with the different