Theme Of Polygamy In The Tale Of Genji

The practice of having concubines and the concept of polygamy stands as an awkward and somewhat rejected tradition of American society. In all 50 states of the United States, the practice of polygamy is illegal and viewed by my many contemporary North Americans as corrupt. Still, the concept of objectifying women hasn’t gone away. Even today, men try to play a numbers game with women to see how many they can have at once. In the Tale of Genji, the men in the story use the social trends of having several wives to not only assert their status but way of life. Men, will be men, as they say. Still, there is a common theme in the literature besides the objectification of women that also runs parallel with contemporary society. Cotemporary women …show more content…
Kiritsubo, the emperor, and his main wife, the audience is introduced to the couple as having a very special bond. The audience is first told of her status, which reflects that of a family near high status, but with no court or other family support. Still, the emperor claims other wives of higher status who find themselves with feelings of spitefulness. In the chapter it is explained that “ As a result, the mere presence of the woman at morning rites or evening ceremonies seemed to provoke hostile reactions among her rivals; and the anxiety she suffered as a consequence of these ever-increasing displays of jealousy was such a heavy burden…” Thus, the main wife health begins to decline in the end because of these displays of jealousy to the emperor toward her. The women did not just accept their roles as lesser wives to the emperor. Instead, the women tried to prove their worth by making jealous attempts and consequently, disheartening the main wife. Like today, women did not just accept their role as the side woman. The women’s roles as lesser wives, and the objectification of the women caused them to revolt against the main wife. In the end, we can see how like women today, women within the story saw being the side-women was not gratifying. The malicious actions and their effect may have been exaggerated in the story, but women today still try to upheaval other women from their title as his main …show more content…
The guard goes on to discuss how a certain woman would not accept her role as just another girlfriend. He first stated,“ Though I thought of her as someone I could always turn to her and rely on her, there was something lacking, and I was sure I could do better. So I played around and cheated on her…” As he speaks he goes on talk to of her jealousy and the final straw she has with him. He tells both Genji and To No Chujo, “ At that point the woman, unable to control her passions, grabbed my hand and bit one of my fingers.” The women, who the warden had cheated on, finally showed the passion of her love through violent action. Indeed, the guard’s constant cheating was encouraged by the general life of the objectification women just as today. Furthermore, the actions of the guard’s girlfriend are the most important. In the end, this example displays how women did not just accept playing the role of side women. They were not subservient. Even today, women have killed their husbands over minor affairs. Women have never wholly accepted the subservient roles. The objectification of women led is still a problem today as it was Genji’s time. Women in Genji’s tale served as objects of affection with a social status attached to them. Still, women are not as objectified and have more freedom than Genji’s society. The common