Higuchi Ichiyo’s The Thirteenth Night features the attractive daughter of a low-ranking family, Oseki, as the starring character. The plot revolves around her struggles. Oseki, the female protagonist of the novel, is confronted with the typical issues that women encounter in old age. Throughout history, women have been viewed as inferior to men because they have not had access to the knowledge they need and society has constantly held them back. Traditionally, women were expected to take on the position of housewife and primary caretaker of the home and children, while the father was expected to take the lead and provide for the family financially. It’s possible that the female lead character is a metaphor for modern-day women as well. As we are all aware, women are making strides and gaining influence in today’s society. There is still a fair amount of discrimination and maltreatment that they are subjected to. Even though women are still viewed as inferior to males, they are capable of doing the same things that men are capable of. They have the potential to be just as successful as the males in society in terms of strength, intellect, and wealth.
The traditional function of women in society was to give birth to children and take care of the family, but this is no longer the case. While males were required to work and seek to make their names as powerful as in the short tale, women were not given the proper education since they were mostly expected to stay at home and raise their families. It’s encouraging to see how far we’ve come as a nation in realizing that everyone is equal, regardless of gender. Now that women have access to the proper training and tools, they are proving themselves to be just as effective and strong as males. Inequality exists, but we may improve our outcomes by reflecting more often on our actions. Previously, according to the short tale, women like Oseki who wanted to divorce their violent relationships at the time were unable to do so, even if they were willing to do so. From the perspective of society, they were utterly weak, and women were viewed as needing a powerful husband in order for their family to be successful. As a general rule, people view women as having to marry prominent men in order for their families to be proud of them and for them to do something. Changes in the perceived patriarchal system were made possible by feminist activism. The ultimate purpose of all feminist work, including feminist theory and literary criticism, is to bring about gender equality in the world. When it comes to strength and self-reliance, men and women are considered equals.
