The Tale of Genji
Genji Paper
Cultural structures are often very complex and unique guidelines that vary across the globe. These cultural aspects provide a prominent background into the lives of each society respectfully, as seen often throughout the historic piece of literature, The Tale of Genji. Three crucial aspects depicted in the novel’s progression are the role of women, Buddhism, and the political configuration, each containing positive and negative attributes prevalent in the tale. China was a powerful nation at the time, and during this age, these three societal concepts were important, yet controversial at times. These concepts can all be related directly back to the central character, Genji, along with the other vital people who, not surprisingly, have a connection in some way to Genji. The author, Murasaki Shikibu, strives, and successfully achieves in the unravelling of these three topics, and their roles in the story.
Almost immediately the reader discovers foreshadowing which shows that women will especially play a large role in the life of Genji. Genji is referred to as “a beautiful son, jewel beyond compare” (4), which demonstrates how highly Genji was portrayed from an early age, and shows that if Genji was considered a fine man at this age, once Genji developed and his life progressed, women would figure prominently in his life. The beauty of Genji never really vanishes, as he has good looks throughout his entire life and as a result, never really has issues meeting women and having intimate relationships with them. Genji is not content to settle for just one woman, as he always searches for multiple women to satisfy different needs, each of who possesses their own unique qualities – qualities he cannot find in other women. Since Genji always strives for multiple partners, each woman throughout the tale plays a different role, and impacts Genji’s life and the story in a completely different way. For example, Aoi is the daughter of the Minister to
Cultural structures are often very complex and unique guidelines that vary across the globe. These cultural aspects provide a prominent background into the lives of each society respectfully, as seen often throughout the historic piece of literature, The Tale of Genji. Three crucial aspects depicted in the novel’s progression are the role of women, Buddhism, and the political configuration, each containing positive and negative attributes prevalent in the tale. China was a powerful nation at the time, and during this age, these three societal concepts were important, yet controversial at times. These concepts can all be related directly back to the central character, Genji, along with the other vital people who, not surprisingly, have a connection in some way to Genji. The author, Murasaki Shikibu, strives, and successfully achieves in the unravelling of these three topics, and their roles in the story.
Almost immediately the reader discovers foreshadowing which shows that women will especially play a large role in the life of Genji. Genji is referred to as “a beautiful son, jewel beyond compare” (4), which demonstrates how highly Genji was portrayed from an early age, and shows that if Genji was considered a fine man at this age, once Genji developed and his life progressed, women would figure prominently in his life. The beauty of Genji never really vanishes, as he has good looks throughout his entire life and as a result, never really has issues meeting women and having intimate relationships with them. Genji is not content to settle for just one woman, as he always searches for multiple women to satisfy different needs, each of who possesses their own unique qualities – qualities he cannot find in other women. Since Genji always strives for multiple partners, each woman throughout the tale plays a different role, and impacts Genji’s life and the story in a completely different way. For example, Aoi is the daughter of the Minister to
Bibliography: Shikibu, Murasaki. The Tale of Genji. Published by Vintage Books: New York, NY. 1976.