82 pages • 2 hours read
Murasaki ShikibuThe Tale Of Genji
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Natural Environment and Cycles of Life
Even though higher-ranking characters inThe Tale of Genjiare not immersed in the natural world often, there is still much plot information about characters and observations about life in the book that frequently involve comparisons to the natural world. The storylines feature much Heian period celebration of nature, seasonal changes, and lunar cycles. Flowers,trees, leaves, dew, and similar imagery are regularly referenced as ways to make better sense of what it means to be alive.
As was customary for the time, many women characters were not referred to by given names (just as their real-life counterparts were not recorded in genealogy). Throughout The Tale of Genji, specifically, many women are named for their places of residence, which are often connected to their husbands, or their names in their storylines are references to an identifying characteristic they share with their story. Some examples of women with names from the natural world are as follows, but these are only a few: Fujitsubo (called so after wisteria, the purple flower, and her residence of Wisteria Court); Murasaki (the purple color of a plant used for dye, and because she resembles Fujitsubo); and Aoi (a forest plant with heart-shaped leaves, featured in an exchange between Genji and the older Dame of Staff in Chapter 9, but since Aoi dramatically dies in this chapter, she is named for that element of her storyline).
The poems exchanged between Genji and his lovers frequently involve comparisons to nature. In Chapter 3, the title of “The Broom Tree” is named after the plant traditionally known for seeming less visible the closer one gets to it. Utsusemi and Genji use this plant in their messages in a way modern readers understand as a metaphor—she is becoming less accessible now that he is closer: “‘Stricken with regret to have it known she was born in a humble home, the broom tree you briefly glimpsed fades and is soon lost to view’” (53). Her last message still utilizes their poetic use of the tree imagery, but it also confirms he will no longer be able to see her. There is nature-referencing correspondence and poetry in almost every chapter of the book, helping clarify the specific relationships and characters involved.
Weather and Seasons as Reflections of Plot
Weather and the seasons often reflect or are tied to turning points in the book. When mentioned, they give the reader a greater sense of time passing, reflect the action of a scene, and sometimes also often function as foreshadowing for future events.
Weather is often utilized to reflect a scene’s events or the internal states of characters. The Emperor is distraught after Genji’s mother dies, and to emphasize both his internal state and thus the external effect on his court, Shikibu writes: “The sound of the wind and the calling of crickets only deepened his melancholy” (8-9). After Yugao dies, the wind picks up outside the house, and the “pines were roaring like a whole forest” (73).
One of the clearest instances of such symbolism is in Chapter 12, as Genji is exiled to Suma. After his affairs have resulted in several calamities and his reputation is disgraced, Genji partakes in a purification ritual, transferring his troubles to a doll sent into the sea. Though the day begins calm and clear, an abrupt thunderstorm hits the purification offering. Though Genji remains calm, chanting prayers, the others with him are shocked and fear for their lives in the sudden storm. Though the tempest eventually calms, Genji is then visited by a strange being representing the Dragon King in his dreams, and the eeriness of this dream is only emphasized by the continued rain and storms, which continue into Chapter 13. Genji wonders how he can survive in this weather in exile, and he begins to understand perhaps he will be only be remembered as a fool.
Weather and seasonal change are also used to move forward plot action. In Chapter 2, the traditional seclusion indoors during a rainstorm is believed to shutout evil spirits, but the storm also allows Genji and the other men to discuss their ideal wives for an extended time during the storm, and the conversation permanently influences him. Seasonal changes in the book also demarcate important moments of transition, collectively as well as personally. The celebrations in both Chapter 7, “Beneath the Autumn Leaves” (an autumnal party for a royal birthday), and Chapter 8, “Under the Cherry Blossoms” (a festivity to honor a cherry tree in blossom), are important seasonal social events, and both act as catalysts for furthering Genji’s romantic affairs, too.
Karma, Spiritual Beliefs, and Past Lives
Many pivotal scenes in the novel are set against spiritual belief systems and Buddhist philosophy. From a perspective of historical criticism, centuries later these motifs certainly can help modern readers better understand the Heian period’s values and rituals. From the perspective of literary criticism, Murasaki’s use of spiritual elements during specific key plot points (and not arbitrary moments) directly supports the tone of the tale’s other high drama and epic events, too.
In the book, there are many explanations for peoples’ relationships attributed to past lives and karmic debt. The importance of reincarnation is acknowledged as early as Chapter 1, when describing the beauty of Genji as a newborn baby: “His Majesty must have had a deep bond with her [Genji’s mother] in past lives as well, for she gave him a wonderfully handsome son” (5). Genji also uses the reasoning of karmic connection in most of his romances to explain his hedonistic behavior, from seducing Yugao into spending the night away against custom to his attraction to 10-year-old Murasaki.
More subtle reminders of these influences are woven throughout the book, too. For instance, Chapter 1 also includes a visit from a Korean expert-sage professional, who advises the Emperor that Genji would only cause unrest and uncertainty in too high a noble office. Because of this prophecy, the Emperor ensures Genji grows up a commoner. The reader later understands this visit as a foreshadowing of Genji’s romantic exploits, and that the prediction had been correct: Genji would have made a very unsuccessful leader. Later in life, when Genji goes to visit his father’s tomb, he asks Fujitsubo, to whom the Emperor was married, if she has any messages for Genji to take to the tomb with him. This moment coincides with later scenes when both Genji and Emperor Suzaku receive messages from their dead father in their dreams. Such continuity of spiritual influence on still-living characters helps create a sense of consistent world-building throughout the complex plot lines.
