Thoughts on The Tale of Genji
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The excerpt we read from the novel The Tale of Genji, follows the Emperor and his forbidden love. Before this woman, the Emperor had been with many other suitors. He even had children with some of them. However, none of that mattered after he met his Lady. The son she gave him (Genji) was his favorite and he did not care that she came from a lower social class. He was head over heels in love. The rest of the empire did not approve of what was going on and the women were extremely jealous of the Lady. So much so that she fell into a depressive state that caused her to fall ill and pass away. Her death broke the Emperor and he struggled to find the beauty in life once again.
What stuck out to me the most while reading was the actions of the women towards the chosen Lady. They spent their entire lives being jealous and petty towards the Lady. Even after her death, they still found reason to hate on her. I find this to be such a waste of energy and can not imagine living my life like that. Also, the Lady had no control over who the Emperor was going to pick. This being even more of a reason why she didn't deserve the treatment she endured. In the end, their jealousy did not make the Emperor want to be with any of them faster or at all, so all that time spent ruining the Lady's life was for nothing.
Additionally, I found this quote from the Emperor to be interesting, "There was an oath between us that neither should go alone upon the road that all at last must tread. How can I now let her go from me?". After reading this I immediately thought of Romeo and Juliet. Not only are both sets of characters so madly in love that they want to be dead if the other is not with them, but they are also both forms of forbidden love.
Overall, I really enjoyed this excerpt from The Tale of Genji and it has made me interested in checking out the rest of the novel.
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He spoke about "the oath" " that neither should go alone upon the orad that all at last must tread" But I am wonder if that was an oath he made up for them two without her consent because her raply to him when he said that was "Though that desired at last become, because I go alone how gladly will I live!"
ReplyDeleteTo me this tells me that she was happy to leave him.
I agree with "a waste of energy" when the lades still slandered her name even when she was deceased. How miserable must they have been to continue to speak badly about a woman that didn't even want to be in their position.
ReplyDelete"There was an oath between us that neither should go alone upon the road that all at last must tread. How can I now let her go from me?" There is definitely a theme of unbounded love veering towards obsession in both the novel and the play. In one way, both readings critique the madness of emotions, rash behavior, and the need to control a situation towards what one wants by any means necessary (even skirting the rules of their respective societies.
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