Peach Blossom Fan
Comparative Essay of Asian Literature Prompt: Compare and contrast the types of love and romance as portrayed in The Peach Blossom Fan and Life of a Sensuous Woman. How do the lovers meet? What keeps them apart? How do the stories end? What do such differences say about the cultures that produced these works? In The Peach Blossom Fan, the two lovers, Hou and Li go through a difficult journey. In the beginning, Hou meets this beautiful prostitute named Li and they are eventually married. As the story progresses, Li is faced with a horrible dilemma. She is going to be forced to marry another man. In attempt to remain loyal to Hou she tries to commit suicide. She is saved by a friend, however but Hou was unaware of this. When Li tried
…show more content…
to commit suicide, her blood was sprayed across the fan given to her by Hou with a poem he had written on it. This is how the name of the fan came about; the peach blossoms were drawn on with Li’s blood. The tragedy in this story is the separation of the two lovers; the tragedy in The Life of a Sensuous Woman is the ending result of a long life of promiscuity. The Peach Blossom Fan ends with the destruction of Li and Hou’s country. They found each other eventually and decide their happiness was a minute matter compared to the loss of their country. Their grief for their country outweighs their desire to pursue their relationship and they destroy the fan. Hou then leaves in the pursuit to become a monk. In The Life of a Sensuous Woman, the story is surrounding an old woman giving advice to two men who seek different outcomes.
One man seeks as much love as he can receive, the other wants a long life. The old woman tells them of her life story and her promiscuity is evident. At the very young age of eleven, this woman began to have sensual desires. She met a samurai who worked for an aristocrat. She thought he was different from all the other men who sent her letters; she said “he was of low rank and wasn’t good looking, but his writing, sent me into another world”(Puchner et al.595). She managed to meet him but was eventually caught and she was merely fired but the man lost his life for their relations. She acted as though this incident had a great effect on her. Her words made that hard to believe: “But the days went by, and you know, I completely forgot about that man” (Puchner et al.595). In the end, the old woman expresses what seems to be shame for her life’s experiences. She says “I just followed my desires wherever they went—and I ruined myself…I certainly have managed to live a long time, but my life, well, it wasn’t what you’d call exemplary”(Puchner et al.596). These two stories have very different situations and are set in different times. The author of The Peach Blossom Fan, Shang ren, set his story in the fall of the Ming dynasty. I believe he used his play as a way to not only remind people of history but as a way to help them cope with the bad
memories that it held. In Life of a Sensuous Woman, Saikaku seemed to expose the more unpleasant elements of higher classes in society. I think his main goal was to entertain. The settings in time were different for both stories as well as the cultural background. The ultimate goals for both stories were different also. It seemed that both stories had set values and traditions; and these seemed to attempt to influence the reader in ways that made the story both interesting and morally significant. They were different and alike in many ways. I think of Li as a virtuous woman although she was a prostitute; somehow her act of loyalty to her husband seemed to make up for this. It also reminds you of the old woman in Life of a Sensuous Woman. Although, she wasn’t a prostitute she was very promiscuous. This is one thing I found the two women to have in common. The love stories also have something in common. Both women lost someone they love but only Li is given the option of being with her lover again. She chooses not to be so essentially Hou could have been dead (just as the old woman’s first love was) because the two had decided to go separate paths. The only difference here is that Li and Hou really loved each other. The old woman said she had slowly forgotten about the samurai as the days past; it seemed to be an insignificant love she had for him because it faded soon after his death. The two stories both seem to be intricate but very different love stories depending on one’s definition of love. The tragedy involving Li and Hou was their separation but the old woman’s tragedy was just what seemed to be regret or shame for her actions throughout her life; maybe the fact that she ended up alone had something to do with her regret. Regardless, both stories were very moving and inspiring.
Works Cited
Puchner, Martin, et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2012. Print.
to commit suicide, her blood was sprayed across the fan given to her by Hou with a poem he had written on it. This is how the name of the fan came about; the peach blossoms were drawn on with Li’s blood. The tragedy in this story is the separation of the two lovers; the tragedy in The Life of a Sensuous Woman is the ending result of a long life of promiscuity. The Peach Blossom Fan ends with the destruction of Li and Hou’s country. They found each other eventually and decide their happiness was a minute matter compared to the loss of their country. Their grief for their country outweighs their desire to pursue their relationship and they destroy the fan. Hou then leaves in the pursuit to become a monk. In The Life of a Sensuous Woman, the story is surrounding an old woman giving advice to two men who seek different outcomes.
One man seeks as much love as he can receive, the other wants a long life. The old woman tells them of her life story and her promiscuity is evident. At the very young age of eleven, this woman began to have sensual desires. She met a samurai who worked for an aristocrat. She thought he was different from all the other men who sent her letters; she said “he was of low rank and wasn’t good looking, but his writing, sent me into another world”(Puchner et al.595). She managed to meet him but was eventually caught and she was merely fired but the man lost his life for their relations. She acted as though this incident had a great effect on her. Her words made that hard to believe: “But the days went by, and you know, I completely forgot about that man” (Puchner et al.595). In the end, the old woman expresses what seems to be shame for her life’s experiences. She says “I just followed my desires wherever they went—and I ruined myself…I certainly have managed to live a long time, but my life, well, it wasn’t what you’d call exemplary”(Puchner et al.596). These two stories have very different situations and are set in different times. The author of The Peach Blossom Fan, Shang ren, set his story in the fall of the Ming dynasty. I believe he used his play as a way to not only remind people of history but as a way to help them cope with the bad
memories that it held. In Life of a Sensuous Woman, Saikaku seemed to expose the more unpleasant elements of higher classes in society. I think his main goal was to entertain. The settings in time were different for both stories as well as the cultural background. The ultimate goals for both stories were different also. It seemed that both stories had set values and traditions; and these seemed to attempt to influence the reader in ways that made the story both interesting and morally significant. They were different and alike in many ways. I think of Li as a virtuous woman although she was a prostitute; somehow her act of loyalty to her husband seemed to make up for this. It also reminds you of the old woman in Life of a Sensuous Woman. Although, she wasn’t a prostitute she was very promiscuous. This is one thing I found the two women to have in common. The love stories also have something in common. Both women lost someone they love but only Li is given the option of being with her lover again. She chooses not to be so essentially Hou could have been dead (just as the old woman’s first love was) because the two had decided to go separate paths. The only difference here is that Li and Hou really loved each other. The old woman said she had slowly forgotten about the samurai as the days past; it seemed to be an insignificant love she had for him because it faded soon after his death. The two stories both seem to be intricate but very different love stories depending on one’s definition of love. The tragedy involving Li and Hou was their separation but the old woman’s tragedy was just what seemed to be regret or shame for her actions throughout her life; maybe the fact that she ended up alone had something to do with her regret. Regardless, both stories were very moving and inspiring.
Works Cited
Puchner, Martin, et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2012. Print.