In both The Thirteenth Night and Dancing Girl, Higuchi Ichiyo and Mori Ogai deal with the issue of “love” in the context of Meiji Japan. While commonly thought of as something personal, both texts portray “love” as being subjected to social pressures – resulting in a tension between the idealized, exalted concept of “love” and the individual’s actual experience of “love”. This tension is significant in both texts, and we see how individuals (the characters) are influenced by society’s prescriptive ideals of “love” but are often unable to achieve it in reality. It is important, however, to note the difference in viewpoint between The Thirteenth Night and Dancing Girl – the former largely depicts a poor female’s experience of “love” (or the lack thereof) while the latter presents “love” from the perspective of an elite, well-educated man. “Love” is presented in The Thirteenth Night and Dancing Girl as being subjected to social pressures, and is therefore a source of tension for individuals who are unable to reconcile their own experiences with social expectations and ideals. In The Thirteenth Night, “love” is tied to the social institutions of marriage and family. The protagonist Oseki is stuck in a loveless marriage as a divorce would not only result in her losing her son, but her family would lose …show more content…
Higuchi Ichiyo’s own experience allowed her writing to realistically depict the suffering of a lowly woman who is still an ‘object’ owned by men in the realm of “love” governed by patriarchal institutions despite the social changes in Meiji Japan. On the other hand, Mori Ogai’s background as an elite, well-educated man imbues his story with a larger purpose – to construct and promote the “love” for a Japanese identity, as well as to participate in the Meiji national