The Sensuous Woman

Reading the “Sensuous Woman” by Ihara Saikaku reminds me of the times when the elderly members of my family would come over to my grandparents’ house and reminisce about the stories of their youth. I never cared about the actual details of the story, instead I loved listening to the lesson that each story taught. By reading her life stories, I would definitely consider asking for her advice. Even though her stories may not be morally accepted by many people, they still tell a story that many women and men should hear.
The Sensuous Woman gives various stories about her life. She comes from a time where woman weren’t respected. Despite the fact society has changed, I think that lessons of her stories have an everlasting problem that women continue to face today. In today’s society many women, like the Sensuous Woman, are looking to explore their sexuality and find love in a world where society continues to stop them from freely doing so. Rumors of a woman being promiscuous can really hurt her reputation and people would judge her harshly. Women are given more of a voice now than in the past, but men usually have the ultimate rule in many situations in our society. Although the Sensuous Woman’s way of finding love and her sexuality …show more content…
From this story, the woman states that the lord’s wife “became a widow while her husband was still alive.”(Saikaku) This woman loved an absentee husband she knew was frequently cheating on her with a girl that was much prettier than herself. This type of treatment still happens today. There are many men in the world that cheat or divorce their wives that are close to their age for a younger woman that could be twenty years younger than they are. This practice is widely accepted and cheered on by many men. The main themes of her stories are current even though the particular examples may not happen