Judgment and Portrayal of Character in the “Love Suicides” and “What the Seasons Brought the Almanac Maker”
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published 05/06/2008
 
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section Summary
 
 
The two narratives of “What the Seasons Brought the Almanac Maker” by Saikaku and the “Love Suicides” by Chikamatsu present variegated looks at the complications of love and society and the need for harmony between the two. Both are prime examples of Japanese literature, full of stock characters, ritual descriptions, natural imagery and aesthetic commentary as well as discourse which combine elements of Confucian and Buddhist thought. One could say that the variegated nature of the stories comes from their realism and use of a wide variety of elements to convey a story. However, it is important to realize that the narrative techniques used are not simply descriptive, they also establish the narrator’s favorable or unfavorable opinion of a character: narration and literary devices are used to reveal the internal motives and principles of the characters, and it is on the basis of these measures, whether the character has consideration for others or pursues only selfish desire and sin, that the narrator paints the character in a negative or positive light.
 
 

Table of Contents Judgment and Portrayal of Character in the “Love Suicides” and “What the Seasons Brought the Almanac Maker” Table of Contents

 
  1. The 'Almanac Maker' establishes a bias towards its protagonists
  2. Ugliness does not necessarily imply that a character will be able to resist wrongdoing more easily and keep his duties in mind
  3. Theatre seems to rouse some sparks of human feeling in Moemon.
  4. Unfortunately for Tokubei his comment on theatre fulfills itself
  5. The 'Almanac Maker' and the 'Love Suicides' contain many descriptive elements
 
 
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