The Tale of Genji
Unit 2: The Middle Ages
EngL 201: World Lit 1
17th century screen panel painting depicting scenes from The Tale of Genji.
The Tale of Genji - Timeline
• c. 973-1031 – Lifetime of Murasaki Shikibu
• c. 1000 – 1012 – Writing of Tale of Genji
(contemporaneous with which other text
from this unit?)
• 794-1185 – Heian period in Japan
Heian-era Japan
• Etiquette very important
• Rules dictating most aspects of life
• Poetry and painting (and aesthetics in
general—think about Genji!) very important
• Highly refined court society
Murasaki Shikibu
•
Born about 973 into the middle-level aristocracy that
supplied provincial governors.
•
She belonged to the vast and, in some other branches,
supremely powerful Fujiwara family, but her given
name went unrecorded
•
Murasaki Shikibu is a nickname:
–
“Shikibu” refers to a post once held by her father (Bureau of
Ceremonial)
–
“Murasaki” is the name of her tale’s fictional heroine
Form of Genji - Novel
• The Tale of Genji is considered “The world’s
first psychological novel.” What might this
mean? How is this novel “psycholgical”?
• Not necessarily the first novel ever, but
probably the oldest novel still widely
recognized today as a masterpiece.
• Though not a novel as we’re used to it. The
heroine (Murasaki) dies 2/3 of the way
through, the hero (Genji) dies shortly after,
and the final chapter doesn’t tie up loose
ends.
• In English translations, usually well over
1000 pages, with over 400 characters
A few notes on characters
• ”The crown prince” = Suzaku, Genji’s older
half-brother
• The Kokiden Consort = Suzaku’s mother, of
higher standing than Genji’s mother
Place of Genji in Japanese culture
•
This work ranks in Japanese culture as the Homeric epics or the works of
Shakespeare do elsewhere.
• Within a few decades of its
completion it was deemed a classic.
• The tale’s popularity made motifs
from it perennially prominent in
Japanese painting
• The story has been turned into
movies, plays, dance, modern
novels, Kabuki, comic books, musical
theater, and opera. (News article on
St. Louis-based opera adaptation:
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlo
uis/the-tale-ofgenji/Content?oid=2474122)
unsigned, 18th century
Tale of Genji
(Genji Monogatari)
Six-panel screen (above)
and detail (right)
Kano, Masamitsu, Six-fold screen with scenes from Tale of Genji, mid 18th century
A woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige from the series
'Tale of Genji in Fifty-four Chapters’, 1852
Explanation of the Emperor’s
Relationships
• A major ambition of many ranking gentlemen in the world of The
Tale of Genji was to present a daughter to the Emperor or the Heir
Apparent.
• For this reason the Emperor normally had a range of recognized
relationships with women, because he was required to make his
prestige relatively widely accessible to the members of the upper
aristocracy.
• Below his single Empress he had several Consorts (example: the
Kokiden Consort) and, lower still, a certain number of Intimates (in
our text called “Ladies,” such as Genji’s mother, the lady of the
Kiritsubo). These imperial women were not equal.
Roles for Women
• Wife (marriages arranged—men could have
multiple wives) (Tale of the Warden’s wife)
• Consort (an official concubine—another way
women could improve the social position of
their family) (Kokiden consort)
• Lady (Lady of the Kiritsubo)
• In what ways does this hierarchy affect the
plot of Genji?
Role of Women in this Story
• Famous conversation between Genji, his
brother in law, the Warden, and the Junior
Secretary on a typology of women: 1172-1175
Role of Women in this Story
• Discussion of “types” of women is really a
discussion of social class, rank, and relation to
power—why might that be?
Roles for Women
• Not unusual for both men and women to take
lovers during this period
• Though women secluded in their homes, they
had greater control over who they did or
didn’t see
• Also, for aristocratic women, ample time to
write (many of the great works of literature
from this time were written by women)
Sexism/Feminism
• As a modern audience, we may find the culture
depicted in Genji as inherently sexist.
• The fictional Wife of Bath and the real Christine
de Pizan are also telling stories about sexist
cultures, but it’s more apparent how they seek to
comment on, in some way, sexist attitudes in
their own time
• Knowing that the author of Genji is female, what
are some ways in which this text might be
commenting on the sexist social structures of her
time?
Sexism/Feminism
• Detailed views of the inner lives of women
• Romantic ideal in Genji
• Depiction or representation ≠ approval
In today's political environment, disruptions are occurring more frequently. An unsuspecting employer
can quickly find itself on the wrong side of a hot-button issue and in the middle of a workplace disruption.
Disruptions often become news events and are a favorite tool of labor unions and other protest groups.
First, it's important to understand the repercussions of a workplace disruption. For one thing, it can lead
to legal problems. It also often leads to lost work time and revenue. And if you respond poorly, it can
cost you the trust of your team and harm employee morale and engagement.
Here is a six-step model to help companies respond effectively to a workplace disruption:
1. Prepare. Make sure your managers know your corporate guidelines and protocol for responding to a
disruption. Also, make sure your managers know and have marked your property lines and have secured
schedules, lists and other sensitive documents.
2. Do no harm. A workplace disruption can be emotional. Protestors often count on this as a way to get
more publicity for their cause. During a disruption, protestors may try to provoke a company leader.
Leaders must learn to remain calm and resist the urge to debate or fight back during a workplace
disruption.
3. Secure. The leader's job is to make sure that all employees, customers and the protestors themselves
remain safe, while at the same time protecting company property. This means the leader must be prepared
to limit access to secure areas of the building. The leader should also know when and how to engage law
enforcement.
4. Restore. Once the protestors leave and the building is secure, it is important to restore things as best
you can to a normal state. Employees and customers will often be rattled. Talk with them and let them
know what you're doing to get things back to business as usual. Again, remain calm and in control.
5. Report. Once things are back to normal, document everything that happened in detail. Get copies of
any literature that the protestors distributed.
6. Engage. The most important step in the process—and the one most often overlooked—is to engage
with employees and customers after the disruption. Reassure them and continue to remain calm and in
control. Let them know how important they are to the organization.
Workplace disruptions are never fun. They are designed to be as stressful and emotional as possible.
That's why it is important that managers get an opportunity to practice these steps in a simulated
experience.
Textual Analysis—
In this paper you have free range in how you interpret the texts you choose to write about and the
topic you choose, but the structure I want you to use and steps I want you to take to construct the
paper are fairly uniform—see this as a guideline to help you.
Step 1: Choose TWO of the following texts from Unit 2 to write about:
Beowulf
Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji
Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies
Step 2: Choose ONE of the following topics to guide your reading of the texts you chose in step 1:
Feminism
Individuality/Autonomy
Heroism
or Storytelling
(Keep in mind that these topics can be interpreted in any number of ways—I’m looking for
you to explain your own particular focus on the topic in relation to the two texts you
choose.)
Step 3: Title your paper—You will title your paper simply using the two texts and the topic you
chose. For example:
Autonomy in Beowulf and Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji
(Note how the title is centered with no bolding or italics, except for the titles of the texts.)
Step 4: Writing the paper itself. As you read, take careful notes on the texts to help you interpret
them and find appropriate quotations to support your claims.
See the next page for how to structure your paper. (Note: You can stray from this structure in
your analysis, but know that you must have a good reason for doing so, and you may lose
points if I find the structure isn’t effective. If you want to give your paper a different
structure I highly recommend you email me about it ahead of time for my approval and
support.)
The structure of the paper should be the following:
Introduction (1 paragraph/half a page): Explain how your topic is reflected in the two texts you
chose, and how this topic can help us understand the texts in relation to each other (compare
and/or contrast). (In other words, here you’re introducing the content of the paper by explaining
why you chose this topic and these two texts—but remember to keep your language formal, as this
is a formal paper!)
Reading of Text 1 (2 paragraphs, about 1 page total or more): In one short paragraph you should
briefly summarize the first text you intend to analyze. In a second, longer paragraph you should
analyze this text in terms of the topic—this is a much longer, more in-depth explanation of what
you introduced in the introduction. Use at least one (no more than two) quote to serve as evidence
of what you’re seeing in the text. Make sure all quotes have a citation (page number at the end of the
sentence) and are fully explained.
Reading of Text 2 (2 paragraphs, about 1 page total or more): Same as you did with Text 1.
Conclusion (1 paragraph/half a page): Recap, in detail, the comparison you’re making between these
texts and then, the most important part, tell your reader what this comparison does for us. Does it
help us understand something better? Does it help us understand something curious in one of the
texts better? This is called answering the “So what?” question.
When this is all done, your paper should be at least 2.5 pages. The best papers are usually at
least 3 pages. Very thoroughly explained papers might reach to the bottom of the fourth
page. Please don’t make your paper longer than 4 pages.
A quick note on plagiarism: ANY words you write that are not your own, even if it’s a small phrase
you found on the internet, MUST be put into quotation marks and cited. Outside research is not a
component of this assignment, so I don’t want you to use outside sources, but in the past people
have found it useful to turn to the internet to define the topic they’re using—this definition, unless
you put it into your own words, MUST be put into quotation marks and cited. If you put the
definition into your own words, you STILL MUST cite the source where you got it with a
parenthetical at the end of the sentence (Miriam Webster).
Plagiarism, no matter how minor, will NOT be tolerated in this class. Any and all forms of
plagiarism WILL be reported.
About Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji (Genji-monogatari) is a classic of Japanese literature. Our
textbook introduction to the middle ages doesn't really mention Japan (at least
not in the selection I've assigned), so here are a few important notes on the
context of this story.
-Written in the early 11th century--a thousand years ago!!
-Japanese writers at the time produced literature in two literary languages--one
vernacular and the other Chinese-style. These differed in themes, rhetoric, and
the gender of their authors. Some of the greatest works of Japanese literature
were written by women in the vernacular language.
-Japanese culture was hugely influenced by Chinese culture, though Japan was
never directly colonized by China as parts of Korea and Vietnam were, so Japanese
writers were able to build on Chinese examples while asserting their own
originality.
-Murasaki Shikibu was writing in the Heian Period (794-1185), named after the
new (in 794) capital city of Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto).
-The four centuries of the Heian Period, when Kyoto was the sole political and
cultural center of Japan, became in retrospect a cultural golden age.
-Heian literature was mostly produced by and for the capital elite.
-Works such as The Tale of Genji, while focused on a male hero, provides a
remarkable close-up of the everyday lives, pleasures, and anxieties of Heian
aristocratic women.
Included in the supplementary materials here is a character list from the chapters
we're reading. This is taken from the textbook, but I provide it for you here so you
can print it out and keep it next to you while you read (and refer to it if you need
to for the quiz!)
About Beowulf
Beowulf is a classic and a must read for every student. Please do not watch the
animated film and think you are watching the story that is found in this text.
Hollywood has taken artistic license and deviated away from the original text to
make the story sell to the general public. That being said, if you do watch the
movie, you also need to read the book. The movie actually has a good feel for
some of the items found in the text. But, you have to read the book!
Please review the geneology chart found in the introductory material in Norton.
This comes in handy when trying to figure out all the names and civilizations.
Beowulf feels as if it is two stories: one story when he is aiding Hrothgar and
another when he has returned home and is king himself. Don't let this fool you.
There is a continuity of theme throughout the entire text. As you read, consider
how the ideas tie the text into a complete package.
Beowulf retold in Legos! This is a very simplified version of Beowulf, but if you've
never been introduced to this text before, I suggest you watch it to get an idea
about the three major battles that shape the plot before reading the text.
(One problem with this short clip is found in from frame 8:03 to 8:15. This clip says
that Beowulf ruled the Danes; he did not. He later ruled the Geats.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4B9OSgb8E0 (链接到外部网站。)链接到外
部网站。
Here is a map of Beowulf's world. The point on the map in the circle marked
"Heorot" is "Herot" with a different spelling--the great hall that Hrothgar built and
that Grendel plagued until Beowulf saved the day.
beowulf.jpg
Below you'll find the youtube video lectures made by my colleague, Professor
Pyra Intihar. THIS IS NOT ME, but is rather another professor here at Lindenwood
who took the time and care to make these lectures. This is to help those of you
who learn better through lectures, but should be seen as supplement to, not
replacement for, the rest of the content in this module.
Christianity in Beowulf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obh0vrP1u8w (链接到外部网站。)链接到外
部网站。
Beowulf Boast and Vow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmr93uPhh2c (链接到外部网站。)链接到外
部网站。
The Heroic Ideal in Beowulf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKBVki1pCcM (链接到外部网站。)链接到外
部网站。
Comitatus in Beowulf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaUS1Os6rDU (链接到外部网站。)链接到外
部网站。
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