Marxism

One significant similarity between Roku and Isamu is that both have not had a happy marriage and their unions are on the verge of collapsing. Even though Roku had a crush on Oseki, she married Isamu on the advice of her parents, who wanted to see their financial situation better. Therefore, Isamu ended up marrying someone. In addition, Isamu is dissatisfied with their marriage because of the complaints that she is not properly educated (Winston 4). One difference is that Roku was being mistreated by his wife and eventually left while Isamu has been accused of abusing his wife, Oseki. Both Roku and Isamu have miserable lives. Isamu’s life is miserable because he is dismayed by the fact that his wife is uneducated and comes from a poor household. In his mind, he believes that Oseku married him because he was a rich guy and that he was not in love with her at the time (Winston 13). When Oseki stole away from her home, she left her kid in the care of her husband’s maids and went to her parents’ house to ask her father for permission to divorce her husband Tanaka, Meanwhile, as a rickshaw puller, Roku is unable to meet all of his demands. A rickshaw-puller with little money and a dead wife are two examples of Roku’s bleak existence in this film. It’s not just that Roku regrets not marrying his true love (Isamu), but also that he was compelled to do it by a wealthy suitor.

Roku Oseku reveals to her the sad elements of their life throughout their run together. Reality depicts a reality where the perfect existence they envisioned is not the norm. Oseki learns after an argument with Roku that they both have hardships. He thought Oseki had a nice and productive life, but it turned out to be the very same dismal life that Roku was living. She discovers that the ideal life they envisioned does not exist in reality. If they had been married, they may have had the life Roku portrays. Using Marxist theory lend it is to see the antagonism between the upper, middle, and bottom classes as a constant in society. People who have been oppressed will use the ongoing tension between classes to spark unrest and revolution, laying the basis for a new social order (Kellner95)As a result, despite their mutual love for one another and their desire to get married, their social standing prevented them from doing so.