ABSTRACT
The Tale of Genji is the story of a man blessed with nearly supernatural beauty, charm, and talent who enjoys a number of love affairs but finds happiness elusive. The story follows the rise, fall, and ultimate success of Genji's career but primarily focuses on his love life and the pageantry and elegant pastimes of the aristocracy. In the chapter, Genji is eighteen years old and his love life is already very complicated. Genji is in love with his young stepmother, Fujitsubo, who is pregnant with his child but trying to keep Genji at arm's length due to the impropriety of their relationship. It is probably Genji's emotionality that endeared him to readers. Love was seen as virtually uncontrollable and unreliable and therefore inevitably causing heartbreak. It is useful to know that men and women lived quite segregated lives, with women keeping themselves behind screens and communicating with visitors mostly through intermediaries.
