The issue of human rights, as well as gender-related inequalities, has been on the cultural agenda of humankind for a while. Comparing “The Love Suicides at Amijima” by Chikamatsu Monzaemon and “Tale of Kieu” by Nguyễn Du, one will realize that the two works, while representing different time periods, address the same problem of human rights and gender inequalities, while using different tools to represent the specified issues.
The problems of human rights and gender issues come into the limelight as the interaction between the characters begins in both the novel and the play. Both art pieces provide a rather subtle analysis of inequality, particularly, between men and women in patriarchal societies, yet the tools that they use are quite different. In the play, the emphasis is constantly on the characters and the immediate interactions between them, whereas the structure of a poem allows contemplating the current state of the narrator’s mood and mindset.
The tone of both the poem and the play helps to convey the problems of inequality rather clearly. Du uses the epic tone to emphasize the scale of injustice: “[…] cruel fate has cursed all women” (Du 76), whereas Monzaemon uses a more somber and mundane tone to address the issues such as prostitution: “What a bore, playing nursemaid to a prostitute with worries on her mind!” (Monzaemon 340). Similarly, the symbolism of the play is much harsher than that one of the poems, creating a very somber picture of the modern-day human rights concerns. Finally, the characters in the play seem to be more nuanced compared to Du’s interpretation of the ancient myth.
Although the poem and the play differ from each other structurally, in their tone, and in the development of their characters, the demand for justice, gender equality, and human rights are evident in both works. As a result, the plight for equal opportunities and freedoms sounds very powerful in both “The Love Suicides at Amijima” and the “Tale of Kieu.” Although each work uniquely renders its theme, the emotional core of the play and the poem are very similar to each other.
Works Cited
Du, Nguyễn. Tale of Kieu. Translated by Timothy Allen, Penguin UK, 2019.
Monzaemon, Chikamatsu. “The Love Suicides at Amijima.” Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays, edited by Karen Brazell et al., translated by Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, 1988, pp. 333-365.