Friday, June 04, 2004

 

So, I was going to read some THEORY last night, but could not do so, as that would mean taking a break from reading the Tale of Genji. I cannot stop reading the Tale of Genji, and very nearly missed my subway stop last night, so absorbing do I find it. I first heard of Genji in reading Kimiko Hahn's "Earshot," where she takes an aggressive stance in opposing and coming to terms with the mysogynistic culture described in the work, and in fact, in some of the root symbols of the very kanji characters in which it's written. But I hadn't really experienced the book itself; just someone else's reaction to it. Now that I'm reading it (although at the hands of a translator), I can tell easily that this book was written by a woman. I mean, sixty-plus years have gone by in this family saga of manners, and as far as I can tell, there hasn't been a single war, political assassination, or even a tidal wave to disrupt a life which consists entirely of having impossible affairs and admiring the wisteria. Honestly, what with the incredibly rigid constraints on male/female relations, they probably were too tired at the end of the day to do anything more than admire wisteria, and quote poetry on the emphemeral quality of life. At least, before the guys set out to do a chambermaid and the women retired behind their curtains to weep. And like I said, I've been reading a description of sixty years of this behavior. And yet I cannot stop.

posted by Reen |link| 0 comments

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