The Thirteenth Night was published in Meiji ear, 1895. In Meiji ear, the government published Meiji Civil Law. Meiji Civil Law revived the idea of male superiority, and it weaken the social status of female. In that ear, most of people follow the rule of “Virtue is in a woman without talent”. This kind of rule also was applied to Ichiyo. Ichiyo’s mother trusted this rule firmly, so Ichiyo did not go back to school when she before she was 11 years old. But, her father knew knowledge can change a person’s life, so he arranged Ichiyo to learn poetry in a private school. In 1889, Ichiyo decided to become a writer to raise her family. In my opinion, this is a symbol that Ichiyo wanted to tell all woman that they had their right to pursuit their dream and life.
Next, in Meiji ear, the right of women is powerless, like Oseki wanted to divorce with Isamu, but she needed to wait for her husband’s agreement. She could not make a decision by her own. Then, when some women began to against the old social system, they will be suppressed by someone. For example, Oseki wanted to leave her husband, but she gave up after talking with her father. Her father told her no matter what happen, Oseki had better to do her responsibility as a wife and mother. In sum, The Thirteenth Night reveals how low social statue women are, and women limited in the relationship between their love and family.
Hey, I totally agree. Women’s rights are powerless. It’s crazy to me that she needs her husbands approval for a divorce. The women there had no power and it’s sad because their voices and their goals were not heard.
Hi, i agree with what you said about women’s rights. I just feel like even in todays society men feel like we need there approval to do certain things. And i feel like i can kind of see how it fits in our society.
Hi Sicong! Your post is full of great information, thank you for sharing. In a way, I feel like society hasn’t changed all that much since this time frame as far as gender equality. Of course, there have been huge changes but somehow it feels very similar. There are huge differences in what is expected of men versus women.
I agree that the women’s rights are powerless. Women have more rights than they did back then , but there still incidents were some men want women to not do things without their approval.
in some countries women have more rights than they did back then*
I agree with you, women back then didnt have much say and were mostly all house wifes.
Great research! I agree that Ichiyo was about following her dreams as by not following the advice of her editor, she was able to polish and form her unique writing style.