Women In A Tale Of Genji

It is pathetic and moving, an expression of undefined sadness. These are a few of words that may describe the Japanese phrase mono no aware, though none capture the entirety of its essence. In the novel Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, the short life of Genji's mother, a major figure in his early years, leads Genji on a subconscious quest to find women who resemble her, all of whom have similarly short lives. These women represents the meaning of mono no aware, and the insignificance of earthly affairs.
Genji's mother was a very accomplished and beautiful woman, however she always had a surreal, dreamlike quality that seemed tied to her fate. These qualities were described by the emperor, Genji's father, expressed one night after she had
His grandmother expressed her concerns for him in her farewell poems to the emperor. "'The tree that gave them shelter has withered and died, One fears for the plight of the hagi shoots beneath'" (Shikibu 15). The grandmother's poem suggests that she fears for the future of Genji, even going so far as to suggest the emperor is no substitute for his mother. Genji comes of age with an absent father and no mother love. He always has a sense of longing for his mother, and from what his nurse and other courtiers have told him, he develops an idealized image of her. He depicts this image with a sense of sadness, because he will never have the chance to know his
Genji is devastated at losing the woman who so closely resembled his mother. "He would have preferred not to exhibit tears to her women. The loss would have been a grievous one even if she had been, all these years, no more than a friend. But life is beyond our control, and there was nothing he could do to keep her back, and no point in trying to describe his sorrow." (Shikibu 354). Genji is hopeful for the short time she is alive that he might be close to her again. This hope is taken away from him by her death, sending him into a short depression that threatens his well