Genji and the Women of His Time: Lust or Pure Love

During the Heian Period, men were allowed to marry several women and in addition could have secret affairs with “both occasional and live-in lovers” (Pekarik 219).This may not seem to be a big issue because the women in the story were expected to overlook many things, including affairs; it is unknown if the women expected the same from men. Although men could practice polygamy, they were to be married to women of the same social status. Pekarik’s example was that “the daughter of an emperor would properly be

Genji began to have several affairs with different women and his first affair began with his father’s consort. This affair was cut short when Genji was exiled from his village. Obviously this was one relationship that was not kept secret. Not only was he exiled as a result, he also began to show his womanizing behavior, primarily because the consort belonged to his father. With his good looks he could have had any woman he wanted but instead he chose his father’s consort; had he not chosen her, he could have escaped being exiled. This made other men envious of Genji because it was very rare and very brave for a son to betray his father by becoming involved with his consort. This situation shed a bad light on Genji, but another affair he had brought his life style into a different perspective and turned into a special relationship.

Kaoru is a character in the story who was the complete opposite of Genji. In fact he was constantly being referred as a “mamebito” or “mame-person”. Although he was unfaithful like his counterpart Genji, Kaoru took his duty of love very seriously. However on the other hand, Kaoru’s relationships (affairs) were more of scandalous actions. The women he was involved with were protected from scandal, which showed that he had some compassion like Genji. One way Kaoru protected his women from scandal was to convert his affairs into more “stable and less risky relationships” (Pekarik). He also had to protect his public image by keeping these relationships secret.

The difference with Genji is that he seemed to move back and forth from one woman to the next. The similarity between the two is that they don’t take into consideration their lovers’ feelings. They never wondered or even thought that just maybe these women didn’t want to share their man with someone else. This is also a prime example of social dominance because none of these women had the bravery to express how they felt about the situation they were in.

When his father learned of his son’s affair with Lady Rokujō (called Lady because of her social status), he was very displeased with his son. His father’s advice to him was “Don’t give any woman cause for resentment by embarrassing her or being difficult” (Pekarik 220). By this time Genji finally realized his father was right but he never followed this advice. Instead he refused to make the relationship public and still refused to make Rokujō his wife. As a result he disrespected Rokujō’s position in the royal court. He was also cruel to Fujitsubo but as Pekarik stated this cruelty was fueled by passion. This relationship was a stressful and difficult one because Fujitsubo was the emperor’s daughter. Although he was insensitive to both women, this contradicted how he treated other women.

The Akashi Lady may have had his attention but another woman that is also involved with Genji had his heart. Tyler stated that Genji was deeply in love with Muraski, his “quasi-wife” but that her feelings may not have been the same for him. He went on to state that Genji’s behavior caused him to not understand Murasaki’s feelings. She developed doubtful feelings toward Genji because she was not the only woman in his life at the time and because he had a bigger interest in Akashi than in her. This again depicted Genji’s lack of being committed to one woman. Genji’s womanizing life style obstructed his view of the true love he could have possibly had with Murasaki. However Tyler stated that Genji never hesitated to show his devotion to Murasaki, but because he was also involved with Akashi Lady, it wasn’t enough. It seems that Genji held these two women in high regard unlike his other loves, Fujitsubo and Rokujō.

Some topics in this essay:
Heian Period, Genji Kaoru, Setouchi Jakuchô, Akashi Lady, Tyler Genji, Fujitsubo Rokujō, Tale Genji, Despite Genji, Kaoru Genji, Lady Rokujō, akashi lady, fujitsubo rokujō, heian period, genji kaoru, pekarik stated, kaoru women, father’s consort, tale genji, life style, social status, relationship akashi lady, tyler stated genji, affair father’s consort, deceased wife aoi, forgot mention women,