During Oseki’s run in with Roku In “The Thirteenth Night” by Higuchi Ichiyo I believe Oseki realizes how life could have been if a person’s social class in society was not so important. Marrying Isamu is acceptable to her family and it was what they wanted because they come from poverty. Isamu is considered more educated and is in a higher social class compared to Roku, but he does not make Oseki happy. Along with her happiness, she gave up being with someone who had actual feelings for her. Who Oseki truly loves does not matter when it comes to financial stability.
Ichiyo
Marxism in The Thirteenth Night
After running in with Roku, Oseki learns that they live unhappy lives. This is ironic because Oseki should be living a good life because her husband is rich and can give her all the world’s pleasures. However, despite living in a financially stable environment, her marriage is not stable, which is the source of her unhappiness. In contrast, Roku is not happy with his marriage and financial situation. Their meeting is a testament to the Marxist theory. Karl Marx’s theory states that a society should have no classes where everyone works to achieve a specific goal, and there is no class struggle. In Oseki and Roku’s case, there is no class struggle. Oseki is in a different class than Roku, but they are both unhappy with their problems. Their meeting is a testament to the Marxist theory where Roku and Oseki are under one class despite their financial stability differences due to their struggles.
Feminism in Ichiyo
I believe that Oseki in “The Thirteenth Night” represent the standing of females as a whole in that period. Ichiyo was born in the Meiji restoration period where there was a large growth in the economy and industry, tasking the women of the era to labor as factory workers or prostitutes – Ichiyo, in particular, was born near the pleasure district with a first-hand perspective. The role of the growth of the industry gave way to the need of new laborers for the new processes requiring women to be dedicated to new jobs deemed necessary at the time. A thought that remains consistent with Ichiyo’s writing and the role of women in that time period is that they were submissive and docile, evident from Oseki’s actions in the story. Ichiyo herself, while born to a member of the government, had to provide for her family when her father passed experiencing firsthand the difficulties for women in her time. Her stories, while not encapsulating her full journey, was a milestone in written perspective for women and the future they had past being treated as submissive and docile women, as there was no difference in the poetry or stories they could share.
Marxism in the Thirteenth Night
While Isamu and Roku are vastly different in terms of status, Isamu being affluent while Roku is deprived, neither were able to achieve a successful relationship. Isamu, having money and status, was able to attain anything and act anyway he seemingly desired from his courting of Oseki to his blatant mistreatment of her – Oseki’s own father believing that she would not find a greater happiness than when she is with Isamu; Roku, without great wealth or status, was unable to keep his wife even when his behavior was similar to Isamu. The difference of results through similar actions from different social standings is a clear point of contention in Marxist theory as Roku may never attain the same happiness as Isamu purely from their places in society.
From Oseki’s encounter with Roku, I believe she had second thoughts on how she could have lived differently to have been happy. The meeting sparked the thought of what if she did not listen to her parents ramblings of marry Isamu and instead steadfastly pursued the homely life she envisioned with Roku in her earlier years, but even Roku was not able to picture a future where Oseki would have been happier with him as one was the, “great Harada Isamu” while the other was just the lowly rickshaw driver.
Marxism & Feminism
Think about the similarities and differences between Isamu and Roku in terms of social class.
What do you think Oseki learns from her run in with Roku? What is the significance of their meeting through the lens of Marxist theory?
- While reading “The Thirteenth Night” by Higuchi Ichiyo, I observed key similarities and differences between Isamu and Roku. A big difference that I think plays a huge role in the story is that Isamu and Roku both come from different social classes, Isamu enjoys the advantages of luxury and wealth while Roku is the complete opposite, and is a part of the lower class. Oseki being married to Isamu she would move up in the social class, and thus leaving Roku behind. This was a decision she realized she had to make, to be with who she loved, or to be with who she knew would help advance her status in society. Through the lens of Marxist Theory, we see how social classes interact and how one group might look down upon another, while simultaneously benefiting off of them.
Think about the setting of “The Thirteenth Night” particularly in terms of historical era. Given what you know of the era, and more specifically, what you learned about Higuchi Ichiyo’s life story, what or who could the female character represent? What role(s) did women play in society at the time, what kind(s) of power did they have, and how did they navigate their way through the systems of power?
- I think that “The Thirteenth Night” really showed how women had to choose to live or survive during the era. We see how Oseki decided to lose true love, in order to escape the struggle of the lower class by marrying into an upper class family like Isamu. This often leads to a life of suffering because it becomes simply a business endeavor more than an actual partnership. Oseki chose to navigate through systems of power by marriage, and I’d imagine that this was a common thing. Women often were not given the same level of respect as men, and were expected to be household wives, and cook and take care of children. They were not given the same benefits as men, even if they married their way to higher classes.
Feminism in Ichiyo
Female characters in ” The Thirteen Night” can represent many things, but I mainly think it tries to represent life in the 1800s as a woman. Women in that era didn’t have as much power as they did in today’s world. Their roles during the era were being a housewife basically and doing the cleaning, cooking, taking care of children, etc. Women’s social status was very limited and doesn’t have much of a say. Ichiyo is a very brave woman during that era and she is known for expressing herself in her writing.
Feminism in Ichiyo
I think the character Oseki represents women who lived during that era in Japan. The roles women played during this period of time were to get married, become a house wife, and have children. Women didn’t have much power during this time because they were expected to be dependent on their husbands and weren’t given much decisions to make, so it was tough to navigate through the system by themselves. At the time, they were only able to navigate through the system of power through their husbands and their appearance. Women during that time also weren’t expected to have a good education and weren’t able to engage in politics. I think the character Oseki falls into the category of feminism in The Thirteenth Night because she wanted to take control over her own life and divorce her abusive husband. I think Oseki trying to get into her own power was a symbolism of feminism.
Marxism in the Thirteenth Night
While reading the story The Thirteenth Night by Higuchi Ichiyo, I thought about Isamu and Roku’s similarities and differences. Isamu and Roku come from different lifestyles, Isamu is a wealthy man while Roku is from a lower class. They also feel different about Oseki. Isamu doesn’t respect Oseki because of her level of education and likes to humiliate and verbally abuse her. Roku was in love with Oseki and was romantically involved with her before Oseki was forced to marry Isamu. The similarities I found between Isamu and Roku were that they both are selfish, mistreat their families, and our overall unhappy with their lives.
While Oseki was talking to Roku near to the end of the story, I think Oseki learned that no matter the class there will still be similarities between a man from a lower class and higher class. For example, Roku and Isamu still had the same behavior even though they were from different classes. I think from that, she realized she could have ended up in the same situation if she married Roku instead of Isamu, but on the other hand she felt like life could have been better with Roku since they came from the same class and understand each other better. I think Oseki also learned that no matter the class, everyone has their struggles.
feminism in ichiyo
Higuchi Ichiyo’s “The Thirteenth Night” was written in the late 1800s, so what was expected of women was quite different. Women’s roles were to do housework, care for their children(s), and be considered their husbands’ property. Oseki exemplifies what the majority of women had to go through at the time. She had planned to leave her abusive husband, but after speaking with her father, she changed her mind. This was because her father told her that she had to fulfill her responsibilities as a wife and mother no matter what has happened. “The Thirteenth Night” depicts how women’s social status is poor and how their relationships are restricted, they don’t have a say in anything. The birth of Isamu’s and Oseki’s son Taro was the catalyst for her abuse. His rage was fueled by the fact that Oseki is less educated. Despite the fact that she was raised at a time when girls were not required to attend school and that Isamu was aware of her background when he desired her. Isamu makes fun of Oseki for being “too stupid to confide in” and keeps her in his house only as Taro’s nursing mother. Reading the biography, Ichoya navigated the system’s power with the help of her father and by continuing to pursue her dreams.
marxism in the thirteenth night
The two characters Isamu and Roku, based on Ichiy Higuchi’s story “The Thirteenth Night,” have similarities and differences in terms of social class. Isamu and Roku are both uneducated. Isamu scored higher in terms of social and economic situations than Roku, who works as a rickshaw puller. They share the same disregard for their families and wives, whom they don’t much care for. Because he had been unable to support her for a long time, Roku’s wife decided to leave him. On the other hand, Isamu, a successful man, has excellent fortune, and his influence aids Oseki’s family in improving their situation. Oseki found it difficult to tell her parents that she intended to divorce Isamu cause of his mental abuse throughout the years. Isamu’s unhappy life is shown as a result of his dissatisfaction with his less educated wife. Isamu’s life is different from Roku’s since he belongs to a superior social group.
During her run with Roku, Oseki realizes that she must continue to stay with her husband in order to avoid becoming homeless like Roku. If Oseki and Roku had chosen each other when they were younger, they would have had a happier life, as opposed to now, because they were both from the same social class. According to Marxist Theory, Oseki’s husband is a wealthy man who mentally abuses her because she comes from a poor family and has a lower level of education then him.
