Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Micro102]

Ok, I am stuck. All I can find is every "how to write better" guide ever made. 

Does ANYONE know ANYTHING about a citable source (wiki is not citable) that descibes common things authors do when writing about their ideal person, even better if it's subconsious, even betterererer if it's asian related.

[Vector]

I think that's a typical introduction to Bronte's The Professor.  You might do well to look into that, because it's another woman writing from the perspective of an ideal/preferred man.

[Micro102]

It is refreshing to be done. I usually suck at essays but I felt good about this one. I guess I just like arguing points 

For anyone inseresting in what it turned out to be, here you go. Leave a comment on what you though about it (plz don't be bad plz don't be bad plz don't be bad)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

     In the book The Tale of Genji, Lady Murasaki depicts Genji as an amazing figure in Japanese court, and how his life brings many
experiences and events to himself and those around him. His ability to say the right thing at the right time, his beauty, and his lineage make him
desired by everyone, even gods. This paper will describe why Lady Murasaki views Genji as her ideal man, through her writings and her past.
   
     It is a common thought between readers that the character Murasaki is Genji’s primary lover in the book. From an innocent child she develops
into a lady who has few flaws. Compared to Rokujo’s murderous jealousy, Aoi’s indifference, or The Hitachi princess’s large nose, Murasaki is a
magnificent wife, more so then his other wives, or ones that bore his children. And even though she suffers more than some of Genji’s other lovers,
she outshines them in Genji’s heart, shown by how often and deeply Genji thinks about her while in exile. It is quite obvious that, being called
Murasaki herself, she choose this name for this character purposefully. It’s within reason to believe that she had the desire to have such a
husband. You might argue that it’s not normal to desire a man, who goes and constantly sleeps with other women; However Murasaki as an author
does not seem to mind such actions. An example of this would be when Genji’s father, the Emperor, visits him as a ghost while he is in exile. The
Emperor (and in other words, Murasaki) says that Genji’s sins are not worth the punishment of exile (Murasaki 258). Being a ghost, and thus now
knowing about all of Genji’s past sins (including sleeping with and impregnating his own wife), seems to be saying that Lady Murasaki had somewhat
of a tolerance of this, and would not have acted as harshly as your average nobility in the Heian period. You might also argue that she already had
a husband, and that she would not fantasize about other men, however according to the analyses of Lady Murasaki’s Diaries, expert Haruo Shirane
suggests that she is resentful of her husband (Shirane 218). Not being satisfied with her life, she could be substituting Genji for her husband. It is
also worth mentioning, that in the English version of the book she notes “I was myself in so distracted a state of mind that I cannot accurately
recall them.” (Murasaki 230), which refers to the few letters he sent out during his exile, which were meant only to those he loved the most. It may
be the way in which it was translated, but it is interesting that, being the narrator, she would describe one such letter being addressed to herself,
as if she was one of Genji’s most loved.

   Looking back into Lady Murasaki’s diaries, she seemed to have been somewhat looked down upon for her shyness and lack of sociability, and had been considered stupid despite her literary skills (Keene 127). Being insecure about this, her ideal man would be someone who did not mind the lack of social skills. And as seen in Genji, he has encountered quite a few women who had such inabilities. In fact, despite the complete rejection of social contact with Asagao, he continues to pursue her interest. Others include the Hitachi princess, who was so socially inept that it almost leads to the destruction of her home, yet who Genji jumped to rescue upon hearing of her turmoil. Or Lady Akashi, a recluse with no hope of ever having a successful life and avoided making contact with Genji. But Genji wouldn’t give up, and practically forced a meeting, eventually leading to another child.

     Despite Genji’s philanderer attitude, Lady Murasaki justifies Genji’s actions though her characters, and gives evidence of a relation between her real life and Genji’s preferences. Being one of the first novels ever written, Lady Murasaki had no source of information or examples to lead her in writing The Tale of Genji, and so her life may have had a significant influence on her writing. This could give critics a new outlook on the novel and lead to the unlocking of more of the Heian period’s culture.


Keene, Donald. Travelers of a Hundred Ages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
Lady Murasaki. The Tale of Genji. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc., 2000.
Shirane, Haruo. The Bridge of Dreams. Stanford: The Japan Foundation, 1987.

And sry about the wall of text, I don't know how to make it look nicer.

[Zrk2]

It's been argued that John Galt in Atlas Shrugged was Ayn Rand's ideal man.

More like Howard Roarke, amirite 

IIRC they're both supposed to be her ideal man. Google it.