"The Tale of Genji"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that "Tale of Genji" is the first piece of Japanese fiction in novelistic form and, excluding the ancient Greek and Roman traditions, the first novel to be written in modern times in the world. The author declares that "The Tale of Genji" is an amazingly complex and detailed portrait of a vast array of characters in medieval Japan, and its portrayal of women and their jealousy is particularly interesting and telling. The paper points out that part of this exceptional and intriguing emphasis on the feminine personalities within the text itself derives from its traditionally attributed female authorship, which enabled its writer to create a more realistic and complete portrait of female society.

From the Paper:

"On the other hand, sometimes jealousy is the result of a quite literal desire for sole sexual possession of the romantic other, and, as the episode in the "Heart to Heart" section demonstrates, there is room in ancient Japanese tradition for the traditional role of the jilted lover, even if feelings of romantic jealousy are considered jejune and absurd. Indeed, it is important to see that jealousy with the "Tale of the Genji" can also result from considerably more traditional concerns of the passions that flare up when the former object of someone's affections is abandoned in search of a new love object."

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