Men And Women In Murasaki Shikibu's Tale Of Genji

Tale of Genji has been deemed to be the world’s first and finest novel completed among the Heian court. With the emperor giving high praises in regards to the book, it added to the book’s popularity because novels were supposed to be read by women and children, not men. While some interpretations of love, attraction, and power in the novel are relatable to present day , most of the Heian period views are perceived quite differently. Japanese Heian-era notions of the ideal man and woman as portrayed in Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji can be viewed as a very contrast notion to today's standard of the ideal man and woman. Heian-era idea love, was more of love at first sight, if she was radiating beauty, men would be more desperately trying

Although coming from a female this quote shows the praise of high ranking women, “Shikibu was born into the Fujiwara family, daughter of the governor of a province, who also was a well known scholar. Always very intelligent, as a child she learned more quickly than her brother, causing her father to lament, "If only you were a boy, how happy I should be!"(Female Hero, 1996-2011). The men do not want to marry down and the woman want to marry up. Both can be looked at as a way to keep the power spectrum leaning in their favor. This suggest Chief Left Equerry believes that it is better for men to date women who are in higher ranks, no matter how amazing the lower ranking women are. This is a debatable topic among american modern culture as it is seen the man is to provide for the women especially if she is of lower status. Lastly, the ideal woman must not outshine her man. The men in the Heian period would did not want to marry a highly-educated that is more intelligent than himself. Especially, in those, the knowledge of Chinese characters. Perhaps that was the reason why Murasaki went over great hurdles to hide her knowledge of Chinese while she was attending the court. The consequence of showing her ability to write chinese would be that she would be teased and abandoned by men. Men in this time relate

As the female must settle for the man that chooses her and let that be it. Such as when Genji kidnapped the greatest love in his life, Murasaki, . She was kidnapped by Genji, who was technically a stranger and who wanted to take advantage of her. Women at that time seemed to have no choice. They were just supposed to follow their “fate” and be ready to accept the fortunes and misfortunes that come to them. Instead of hating Genji, Murasakie accepted the fact she was kidnapped and decided to stay with Genji and spend the rest of her life with him. If a woman was kidnapped today , she is not forced to just give up and accept that is who she must be with. Genji would then train Murasaki into being the ideal woman by Genji. If a woman could not be molded into the ideal woman or has failed to live up to the standard,she was left. When Chūjō started to talk about a lover of his, Lady Yûgao, this showed how big of reality this is. Even though she was very pretty and gave him a daughter, she was later dumped because of her meek and forgiving nature. This proved another characteristic of an ideal woman suggested by Chūjō is a woman with a strong mind and be able to pursue her love, but not just being scared away. Chūjō says “She is a perfect example of the woman you cannot keep long and cannot actually depend on (Tyler,