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"He blew his nose with touching grace."
Jan. 5th, 2019 04:52 pmIn my ongoing to quest to finish reading Genji (my edition's main text ends at 1120 very thin pages; I'm at page 546 - and this prose is not a quick, easy read), I finished chapter 31 this morning, and oh boy do the men in this story continue to suck. But at least the narrative is more disapproving on this occasion than others. (The title is an actual quote from this chapter.)
So we have Tamakazura, who is the daughter of a friend of our dear hero Shining Hikaru Genji himself. Genji has been acting as her father for reasons. Of course, being Genji, he has also secretly been flirting with/sexually harassing her since they aren't actually related, which she does not at all welcome. Tamakazura is pretty clearly (though you still have to read between the lines) raped off-page by Asshole Courtier Higekuro and because this is the Heian Era, has to be hastily married to him. It's still not entirely clear to me when or how this incident happened, but timelines aren't always entirely clear in this novel, so.
Tamakazura has already been very sad because Genji has been harassing her when she doesn't want him to be and not letting her meet her blood relatives, and now she is even more sad. She does get made Mistress of Staff at the palace, but is still living with Genji even after her marriage, which was common at the time. Genji comes to her and they have a poetry exchange that basically goes like this:
Genji: Man, it would have been nice if I'd been able to sleep with you first after all.
Tamakazura: I am extremely sad and want to disappear.
Asshole Courtier Higekuro is already married - at this time and place, men could have up to four proper wives. He and his first wife have some children, but she is possessed by a mysterious spirit, so relations have been strained, although he at least continues to provide for her. She is naturally upset about his attentions being diverted to a younger woman who isn't even one of her gentlewoman (Higekuro is also already sleeping with one of them). However, while making this sadness clear to him, she also tries to be a good wife about it on one snowy night when he's been thinking about going to visit Tamakazura and encourages him to go. And then she gets possessed, oh no. In one of the best moment of the novel so far, before he actually leaves, she dumps a brazier full of incense ashes over his head. (Is she possessed or "possessed", I wonder. This is a much more direct way of showing anger than she would have an option of otherwise!)
Higekuro's first wife's father hears about what happened and has had enough of this. He brings his daughter and her kids home; first, her daughter writes a very sweet poem and attaches it to her favorite pillar in the house:
I am leaving now a home that has long been mine: O handsome pillar,
you whom I have loved so well, please do not forget me yet!
Higekuro is not able to talk to his wife or his daughter afterward, though he does immediately take his two young sons back home. They are also very sad. (At least we learn later that they go to visit their mother and sister a lot.)
Meanwhile, Tamakazura gets moved to the palace for New Year's ceremonies. She gets moved into the apartment next to Higekuro's first wife's father's other daughter, who is a consort. Awkward. She does get to see her brother during the festivities (though a screen, naturally) and Genji is still providing for her well, so she and her ladies' colored sleeves stand out among everyone else's.
But Higekuro wants to leave with her RIGHT AWAY, so he can take her directly back to his place without impropriety. (Also, Mistresses of Staff at the palace were informally consorts on top of their actual jobs. It's fine for him to be sleeping with multiple women, but heaven help them if she might be forced to sleep with another man.) The emperor himself comes to visit and makes it clear that yeah, he wants her, too (Genji built up quite a reputation for her). She continues to be unhappy, and manages to hold him off with the right response to his poem and behaving so properly he doesn't get the chance to make the conversation flirty again.
Higekuro does take her home as soon as possible. Tamakazura continues to be sad and even kind of misses Genji a little. Possibly because at least he 'only' harassed her and, as the novel likes to remind us, he is so wonderful in sooooo many ways. Mostly she wants to see her actual father. Genji tries to get her off of his mind, though it doesn't work that well. I guess his multiple other lovers and that job he supposedly has at the palace aren't keeping him busy enough. Tamakazura is nice to Higekuro's sons and has one of her own. She is probably never going back to the palace, though that would have been a step up for her.
...and that's the chapter. I peeked into the character directory and see that Tamakazura appears again in a few chapters, so I am choosing to hope that she gets to be happier again at some point. She's one of my favorite characters now.
I often wonder, reading this book, what the author thought of her world. After this, I really should pick up her diary, or what we have of it. In particular, I keep wondering to what degree she bought into this incredibly sexist social system, and to what degree there are subtle frustrations with it woven into the story, such as with Genji's great love repeatedly getting frustrated that his attentions wander so much, with him chiding her about it multiple times. What Higekuro did to Tamakazura is clearly presented as 'wrong' here, partially because it's embarrassing to everyone, but her grief with her situation in general is also pretty clear, as it was back when she was stuck with Genji.
Anyway. On to chapter 32 tomorrow. Maybe I will finally finish this thing this year. I am enjoying it, though it takes a lot more attention than your average book.
So we have Tamakazura, who is the daughter of a friend of our dear hero Shining Hikaru Genji himself. Genji has been acting as her father for reasons. Of course, being Genji, he has also secretly been flirting with/sexually harassing her since they aren't actually related, which she does not at all welcome. Tamakazura is pretty clearly (though you still have to read between the lines) raped off-page by Asshole Courtier Higekuro and because this is the Heian Era, has to be hastily married to him. It's still not entirely clear to me when or how this incident happened, but timelines aren't always entirely clear in this novel, so.
Tamakazura has already been very sad because Genji has been harassing her when she doesn't want him to be and not letting her meet her blood relatives, and now she is even more sad. She does get made Mistress of Staff at the palace, but is still living with Genji even after her marriage, which was common at the time. Genji comes to her and they have a poetry exchange that basically goes like this:
Genji: Man, it would have been nice if I'd been able to sleep with you first after all.
Tamakazura: I am extremely sad and want to disappear.
Asshole Courtier Higekuro is already married - at this time and place, men could have up to four proper wives. He and his first wife have some children, but she is possessed by a mysterious spirit, so relations have been strained, although he at least continues to provide for her. She is naturally upset about his attentions being diverted to a younger woman who isn't even one of her gentlewoman (Higekuro is also already sleeping with one of them). However, while making this sadness clear to him, she also tries to be a good wife about it on one snowy night when he's been thinking about going to visit Tamakazura and encourages him to go. And then she gets possessed, oh no. In one of the best moment of the novel so far, before he actually leaves, she dumps a brazier full of incense ashes over his head. (Is she possessed or "possessed", I wonder. This is a much more direct way of showing anger than she would have an option of otherwise!)
Higekuro's first wife's father hears about what happened and has had enough of this. He brings his daughter and her kids home; first, her daughter writes a very sweet poem and attaches it to her favorite pillar in the house:
I am leaving now a home that has long been mine: O handsome pillar,
you whom I have loved so well, please do not forget me yet!
Higekuro is not able to talk to his wife or his daughter afterward, though he does immediately take his two young sons back home. They are also very sad. (At least we learn later that they go to visit their mother and sister a lot.)
Meanwhile, Tamakazura gets moved to the palace for New Year's ceremonies. She gets moved into the apartment next to Higekuro's first wife's father's other daughter, who is a consort. Awkward. She does get to see her brother during the festivities (though a screen, naturally) and Genji is still providing for her well, so she and her ladies' colored sleeves stand out among everyone else's.
But Higekuro wants to leave with her RIGHT AWAY, so he can take her directly back to his place without impropriety. (Also, Mistresses of Staff at the palace were informally consorts on top of their actual jobs. It's fine for him to be sleeping with multiple women, but heaven help them if she might be forced to sleep with another man.) The emperor himself comes to visit and makes it clear that yeah, he wants her, too (Genji built up quite a reputation for her). She continues to be unhappy, and manages to hold him off with the right response to his poem and behaving so properly he doesn't get the chance to make the conversation flirty again.
Higekuro does take her home as soon as possible. Tamakazura continues to be sad and even kind of misses Genji a little. Possibly because at least he 'only' harassed her and, as the novel likes to remind us, he is so wonderful in sooooo many ways. Mostly she wants to see her actual father. Genji tries to get her off of his mind, though it doesn't work that well. I guess his multiple other lovers and that job he supposedly has at the palace aren't keeping him busy enough. Tamakazura is nice to Higekuro's sons and has one of her own. She is probably never going back to the palace, though that would have been a step up for her.
...and that's the chapter. I peeked into the character directory and see that Tamakazura appears again in a few chapters, so I am choosing to hope that she gets to be happier again at some point. She's one of my favorite characters now.
I often wonder, reading this book, what the author thought of her world. After this, I really should pick up her diary, or what we have of it. In particular, I keep wondering to what degree she bought into this incredibly sexist social system, and to what degree there are subtle frustrations with it woven into the story, such as with Genji's great love repeatedly getting frustrated that his attentions wander so much, with him chiding her about it multiple times. What Higekuro did to Tamakazura is clearly presented as 'wrong' here, partially because it's embarrassing to everyone, but her grief with her situation in general is also pretty clear, as it was back when she was stuck with Genji.
Anyway. On to chapter 32 tomorrow. Maybe I will finally finish this thing this year. I am enjoying it, though it takes a lot more attention than your average book.
