The Feminist Power of Female Ghosts
Ghost stories have been a popular form of literature for a long time and supernatural elements are central to plot, theme and character development of these stories. Various cultures of the world have collected many stories and legends, combined with mythology and cultural superstitions both in past and present. Japan is one of the countries where belief in ghosts and demons has been deep-rooted. According to “Buddhism and Japanese Shinto, the Japanese believe that they are surrounded by spirits all the time”(footnote1). The existence of this inexplicable phenomena can arouse a fear in humankind because we have no way of understanding it. Many cultures around the world believe that if the soul of the dead …show more content…
Loyalty was the concept that played an important role within the context of the story, for both Kohei and Oiwa died to protect it. Kohei stole the medicine to prove his loyalty to his previous master and Oiwa kept the loyalty of a daughter and wife of a samurai and both became the victims of their loyalty. According to the narrator of the story “she was the model of a virtuous woman”. She proved her loyalty to Iemon even after he betrayed her by rejecting Takuetsu’s offer of love and tried to attack him saying “I am the wife of a samurai after all”. She might have stayed alive if she had accepted to run away with Takuetsu. She also remarried Iemon after her father’s death to be able to avenge his death with Iemon as a daughter of a samurai. Iemon disgraced theses values and tried to attack her faithfulness as a wife and mother. Although Kohei and Oiwa had similar destinies, Kohei was the more pathetic character, for after Oiwa’s death, he told Iemon: “I will consider keeping your crimes a secret in exchange for medicine”. He was so conscious of his own life that he ignored the death of an innocent person. Kohie’s appearance as a ghost was to ask for the medicine while Oiwa returned as a vengeful ghost willing to end everything and everyone related to her unfair death. This virtuous and pathetic looking character at the beginning of the story came back powerful, …show more content…
The medicine that was sent from Ito family was a disfiguring poison because they believed that “Iemon’s love for Oiwa would vanish as soon as her beauty disappeared”. This example explains the significance of her face, for a woman could no longer have a normal life without a good face. The detailed scene of the change in her appearance is one of the most dramatic scenes of the whole animation. The blood that came from her mouth after teeth blackening, removing her hair while screaming and the blood resulting from hair removal made her death dramatic and unforgettable. Every time she appeared as a ghost, she had the disfigured face to remind the audience of her tragedy and it wasn’t after the death of Iemon that she appeared as a normal looking ghost. So, by representing the pain of the horrible death in her face, she could hold to the dramatic aspect of the
Ghost stories have been a popular form of literature for a long time and supernatural elements are central to plot, theme and character development of these stories. Various cultures of the world have collected many stories and legends, combined with mythology and cultural superstitions both in past and present. Japan is one of the countries where belief in ghosts and demons has been deep-rooted. According to “Buddhism and Japanese Shinto, the Japanese believe that they are surrounded by spirits all the time”(footnote1). The existence of this inexplicable phenomena can arouse a fear in humankind because we have no way of understanding it. Many cultures around the world believe that if the soul of the dead …show more content…
Loyalty was the concept that played an important role within the context of the story, for both Kohei and Oiwa died to protect it. Kohei stole the medicine to prove his loyalty to his previous master and Oiwa kept the loyalty of a daughter and wife of a samurai and both became the victims of their loyalty. According to the narrator of the story “she was the model of a virtuous woman”. She proved her loyalty to Iemon even after he betrayed her by rejecting Takuetsu’s offer of love and tried to attack him saying “I am the wife of a samurai after all”. She might have stayed alive if she had accepted to run away with Takuetsu. She also remarried Iemon after her father’s death to be able to avenge his death with Iemon as a daughter of a samurai. Iemon disgraced theses values and tried to attack her faithfulness as a wife and mother. Although Kohei and Oiwa had similar destinies, Kohei was the more pathetic character, for after Oiwa’s death, he told Iemon: “I will consider keeping your crimes a secret in exchange for medicine”. He was so conscious of his own life that he ignored the death of an innocent person. Kohie’s appearance as a ghost was to ask for the medicine while Oiwa returned as a vengeful ghost willing to end everything and everyone related to her unfair death. This virtuous and pathetic looking character at the beginning of the story came back powerful, …show more content…
The medicine that was sent from Ito family was a disfiguring poison because they believed that “Iemon’s love for Oiwa would vanish as soon as her beauty disappeared”. This example explains the significance of her face, for a woman could no longer have a normal life without a good face. The detailed scene of the change in her appearance is one of the most dramatic scenes of the whole animation. The blood that came from her mouth after teeth blackening, removing her hair while screaming and the blood resulting from hair removal made her death dramatic and unforgettable. Every time she appeared as a ghost, she had the disfigured face to remind the audience of her tragedy and it wasn’t after the death of Iemon that she appeared as a normal looking ghost. So, by representing the pain of the horrible death in her face, she could hold to the dramatic aspect of the