Feminism In Ichiyo

In the story, “The Thirteenth Night”  there are two characters Isamu and Roku, which have no similarities in terms of their social class, as one is a rickshaw driver and the other is someone known and important in society. However, the differences in the social ranking are made up for with the similarities in their characters and personalities. As both men have little respect or care for their love partners and family, making them to both be miserable husbands and fathers. When Oskei runs into Roku and he tells her his life story and what he is doing recently, this was an important reconnection because it shows Oskei that she is not the only woman suffering and that the problem isn’t because of the higher stats of her husband but his character. Much like many parts of the world at this time, the status women had in society was extremely limited. If a woman wanted to leave a life of maidservant or cleaner the only option she had was to marry into a family of wealth and higher status. Tied to the wealth of the man she married, her life no longer mattered as much as his.