Murasaki Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that beneath Genji's veneer of class exists some less admirable character traits; a man, who cheats on his wife, kidnaps a troubled, insecure girl (who dies in his care) and who is convinced that the lower class is so beneath him as to not be worth his time. The author points out that loneliness is a very common theme in both the men's and women's poems. The paper relates that Genji, "The Shining One", retains an equally impeccable reputation in Japanese literature.

From the Paper:

"There are many examples among the poetry of the time that show that there was a definite stress on the importance of having a man. One of the clearest examples of this is the poem about things a prostitute likes
that ends on the sad note of a prostitute praying for a man's love, that as a prostitute she is all the less likely to ever have. As in Yugao, there are examples of distrust in men in matters of love. Two particularly blunt examples of this include a poem wherein a woman rains curses down on her distrustful lover, including, but not limited to, the ardent hope that he will sprout horns and turn into a demon."

More papers on Murasaki Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji":

• Book Review # 50543 : "The Tale of Genji"
• Analytical Essay # 9178 : "'The Tale of Genji'"
• Term Paper # 99711 : "The Tale of Genji"
• Book Review # 66489 : "The Tale of Genji"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: