The Roles Of Monogatari

Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.

How do the works of Yasumasa Morimura, Julie Rrap and Anne Zahalka challenge conventional ways in which gender has been depicted historically in the visual arts?

Social rank was a main factor in determining women’s role in court and from the first chapter of “The Tale of Genji” author Maruabu Shikabu stressed the importance of social role. Genji’s mother, often the brunt of slanderous abuse from the Emperors wife, withdrew from court and took Genji away from court to live with her family. Social importance was best explained though in chapter two by Genji’s friend, To-no-Chujo. Chujo defines the different ranks to Genji while discussing the women they have slept with. To suggests that the three different ranks among women were; “High rank, Middle Rank, and No Rank (Commoners). Genji’s mother was a lower (Middle) rank

In Ihara Saikaku’s story, Life of a Sensuous Woman, and Mary Wollstonecraft’s work, “Vindication of the Rights of Woman”, the issue of double standards in gender are examined. Both pieces offer a perspective into the lives of women during their respective times and show how some standards that are considered favorable for men, are looked down upon for women. In particular, the two works examine how women were treated differently based on their education, their social status and even their sexual history. Saikaku looks at these issues in a different lens from Wollstonecraft, based on his experiences as a man living in Japan in the 17th century. Their experiences shape their works and show how the issue of double standards of gender span culture, time and geography.

In the modern world women work, vote, run for office and the list goes on. In most aspects, women are equal to men. However, this was not always the case. In centuries past, women were not viewed as being equal to men socially, intellectually, or politically and were thought incapable of accomplishing anything of value. Consequently, many cultures held the view that women were possessions whose only purpose was to be subservient to men. The view of women as mere objects is evident in various works of literature throughout the ages. Two classic works of literature that exemplify this are The Thousand and One Nights and Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of

"American literature is male. To read the canon of what is currently considered classic American literature is perforce to identify as male; Our literature neither leaves women alone nor allows them to participate." Judith Fetterley (Walker, 171)

The literary masterpiece The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is a fictional tale that provides clear insight into the sociopolitical court life of the Heian period in Japan. In the tale we are able to see the standards of life that were expected of the aristocrats during the Heian period. The social nature of Heian court life is depicted in the many relationships of the characters through the various stories presented in The Tale of Genji. The relationships in the tale are mainly romantic relationships that surround the Shining Prince Genji, along with other relationships such as parent and child, master and servant, and relationships between social contemporaries. The romantic relationships in the tale indirectly provide the reader with

Genji Monogatari or The Tale of Genji is a story that was written by Murasaki Shikibu during the Heian period. It is a very well received work of Japanese literature and the first part of the story is written with the main character being Genji, and then continues without him. I have no knowledge of the second half of Genji Monogatari but it is in the first section of this tale the characteristics and traits for ideal men and women of the society within the story can be gathered. The criteria for an ideal man or woman in The Tale of Genji was the importance of the physical attribute of beauty, the background, personality, and education of a woman, and characteristics that the main hero of the story, Genji, possessed.

In my ENGL220 class, we have been reading a different kind of literature works. Different literature stories have struck a responsive chord in readers’ hearts. Two of literature works “ Mirror ” by Sylvia Plath and short story “ The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman both shows female’s oppressive living in patriarchal society and control by men.

The most well noted early American authors all have one big, sometimes unrealized bias. That bias is gender. Authors such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Henry James all follow this unintentional norm in the way that they have represented masculinity through their works.

“ You cannot talk about genre without talking about gender.” Initially, this would appear to be a simplistic statement. On closer analysis, however, one fact becomes evident. It is the representation of gender which informs the genre of the text. Ismay Barwell , in her essay ‘ Feminist perspectives and narrative points of view’ states that “ Every text is gendered since every act of narration…..involves a process of selection….and the nature of that selection implies certain values” ( p.99). She makes the point that “ The desires, attitudes and interests which guide any choices made must be either male or female”( p.98 ). It is within this frame of reference, that the two texts will be analysed.

To counter this topic of male writers’ domination over female writers, why were there not a lot of female writers in the past? There were, but women wear a male’s mask when writing literature. Yet, women in the past and still today have a hard time getting their book(s) published, because they are women. Furthermore, women would have to give themselves male names or portray their pen name as more masculine such as Joanne "Jo" Rowling, who used the pen names J. K. Rowling and even the male’s name Robert Galbraith to get her books published. Women writers, had to wear a “mask” to hide their gender so others would read their books (Been 2015). In many different eras, women would have to use masculine names, such as in the 1600’s, because women

Genji grows older and not only becomes married to Princess Aoi, but he also gains a strong friendship with his brother in law, To-no-Chujo. The two friends like many boys, discuss women and the troubles that arise from relationships. To-no-Chujo and Genji have a big discussion over this, while reliving past relationships the Chief Equerry arrives and joins in on the discussion. To-no-Chujo remarks on a woman he actually bore a child with and that they did not stay together because she was too forgiving and submissive. The

The Tale of Genji is one of the most important stories of ancient Japanese literature. Japanese scholar Sin Ohno said that there is no literature written during the Heian Era which is written in as precise language as The Tale of Genji. The author, Murasaki Shikibu, is a woman. In this tale, we can see the concept towards marriage of women during her period.

The Tale of Genji is a captivating story about an “ideal” man, who is in search of the nonexistent “perfect” woman. Throughout his quest, Genji faces many conflicting ideas, such as lust versus love and hopes versus reality. The main character, Genji, is an ideal man, because of his great looks and high social status resulting from his mother and the emperor’s relationship. Genji is also very talented in the arts, which should help him find a lover due to the courting style of the era. Though he has a lot going for him, Genji consistently finds himself disappointed in the women that he meets along his path for the “perfect” woman.