The Tale of Genji Literary Elements

Court intrigue and romance

The action take place at the Imperial Japanese court sometimes between 900-940 BCE.

The story is told from the perspective of a third-person subjective point of view.

The tone and mood used in the story are a predominately neutral one.

The protagonist is Genji and the antagonist is Kokiden.

The major conflict is primarily a political one and is the result of the ambitions one of the Emperor's concubines has regarding her son and his status at the court.

The story reaches its climax when the main character returns to court.

At the beginning of the story, we see that the other concubines bully the Lady of the Paulownia Court because she is the Emperor's favorite. These scenes foreshadow the later instances in which the Lady of the Paulownia Court's son will be cast aside and treated in a disrespectful and violent manner by those around him.

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One of the main allusions we find here is that the mothers were less important when compared with their children. For example, Genji's mother is never named and the only female to be given a proper name is the Empress. This suggests the concubines were just breeding machines used by the ruler to provide him with as many heirs as possible.

One important imagery is that of the Emperor crying upon hearing that Lady of the Paulownia Court died. In a fit of desperation, the Emperor locks himself in a room so he can grieve the death of his loved one. This image is unusual because men during those times did not freely express their emotions. This image thus has the purpose of highlighting just how much the Emperor loves the Lady of the Paulownia Court.

One of the most paradoxical ideas presented in the novel is the way in which the Emperor has many limitations imposed on him despite his superior position. Because of these limitations, he is unable to bring Genji to court and raise him as his son.

A parallel can be drawn between the Lady of the Paulownia Court and Suzaku, the Emperor's wife. The two women are extremely different and while the Lady is often portrayed as being a kind and loving woman, Suzaku is more interested in securing her own place at the court and making sure she and her son will have a glorious future. This parallel is used here to represent the two categories of women who lived at the court.

The term "house of tears" is often used in the novel and it is a general term to make reference to the pain the death of the Paulownia Lady caused to the Emperor.

We have a personification in the line "and the cords sang their sorrow".