Essay On Tale Of Genji And Thousand And One Nights

Women’s roles in society have changed tremendously over the years. Women have been generally portrayed as having been significantly subservient to men in Ancient times. However, Thousand and one nights collection of stories bravely goes against this norm by depicting unconventional women characters. Because of this, there are similarities as well as differences in women roles in the settings of Thousand and one nights and Tale of the Genji.
In the Tale of Genji, for example, the role of the woman is to take care of her man. Kiritsubo-koui and the other concubines are maintained by the emperor for his amusement and to bear him children. Her destiny is dependent on the emperor’s. In addition, she falls prey to the social pressures from those who disliked her. In addition, women are objectified by men. Lady Kokiden bears the good-looking and dominant prince and is favored over the rest. Women in this Japanese context are also faithful to their husbands despite their husbands practicing polygamy. this is shown by Kiritsubo-koui, Lady Kokiden and the other concubines, who have to remain faithful to the emperor.
On the other hand, Thousand and one nights depicts women as conniving and shrewd as well as being the masters of their destiny. This is because the woman whose husband had travelled chooses her own destiny and falls in love with another man rather than live in solitude. Another difference between the two contexts is that women in Thousand and one nights are depicted as being unfaithful and immoral. They engage in extra-marital affairs and cheat on their husbands. A major similarity between the two contexts is that women are also objectified and viewed as a source of pleasure by men in Thousand and one nights. The vicar, the king and the carpenter all ask for sexual favors from the woman.