THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOVE AND MONEY IN GEISHA’S LIFE AS REFLECTED THROUGH THE CONFLICTS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN KAFU NAGAI’S GEISHA IN RIVALRY
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOVE AND MONEY IN GEISHA’S
LIFE AS REFLECTED THROUGH THE CONFLICTS AND
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN
KAFU NAGAI’S GEISHA IN RIVALRY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra In English Letters
By:
Gabriella Nugraheni Arumingtyas
Student Number: 064214038
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOVE AND MONEY IN GEISHA’S
LIFE AS REFLECTED THROUGH THE CONFLICTS AND
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN
KAFU NAGAI’S GEISHA IN RIVALRY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra In English Letters
By:
Gabriella Nugraheni Arumingtyas
Student Number: 064214038
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my biggest gratitude to Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary for theblessings and opportunities throughout my life and for guiding and accompanying me in writing
and completing my undergraduate thesis.My deep gratitude goes to my advisor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S, M.Hum. who never
stops encouraging me to finish my undergraduate thesis. Without your patience and kindness in
advising me, I cannot complete this undergraduate thesis. My deep gratitude also goes to my co-
advisor Tatang Iskarna, S.S, M.Hum. who has given his precious time to read and check on this
undergraduate thesis.I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved parents, (†)YB. Hajar
Iswara and Monica Pujiati, for all their unlimited love, trust, prayer and support. For my beloved
brother Michelangelo Anugerah Adiwardoyo who always gives colors to my life.My special thanks for my best friends Argent, Wulan, Gentur, Handoko, Noel Scott,
Julie, Tere, Rika, Risca, Esther, Sukma, Achied, Cica, Pipit, Asti, Tuwix, Ketut, Haryo Bodrex,
Media, Sr. Yekti, Sr. Etty, Sr. Cory, Tanti, Nicke Afra, Nani, Uchie, Lia, Enhae, Dara and all
Pondok Angela Community’s members. Thanks for your endless support to make me finish this
undergraduate thesis.Finally, I want to say thank you for all my friends in English Letters Department
especially for the students of 2006. Thanks for being my friend and I would never forget our
friendship. I would not forget to thank all the staffs in library and English Letters Department.
May God bless you all! Gabriella Nugraheni Arumingtyas
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ………………..…………………………………………… iAPPROVAL PAGE ……………………..…………………………. …… ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ………………………………………….............. iii
MOTTO PAGE …………...……………………………………………… iv
DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………… ……………… v
Lembar Pernyataan Publikasi……………………………………………………. vi
Lembar Pernyataan Keaslian Karya ……………………………………………. vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……………………………………………….. viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………… ix
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………. xi
ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………… xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………….. 1
A. Background of the Study ……………………………………….. 1 B. Problem Formulation …………………………………………… 4 C. Objectives of the Study …………………………………………. 4 D. Definition of Terms …………………………………………….. 5 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW …………………………….. 8 A. Review of Related Studies ……………………………………… 8 B. Review of Related Theories …………………………………….. 111. Theory of Character and Characterization ……………….. 11
2. Theory of Conflict ………………………………………... 15
3. The Relation between Literature and Society ……..……... 15
C. Review of Geisha ……………………………………………….. 16
1. History of Geisha ………………………………………… 17
2. The Geisha Society ……………………………………….. 18
3. The Rules and Regulation for Geisha …………………….. 21
D. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………….. 22
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ……………………………………... 24
A. Object of the Study ……………………………………………… 24 B. Approach of the Study …………………………………………... 25 C. Method of the Study …………………………………………….. 26CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ……….……………………………………... 28
A. The Characterization of Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji, Hanasukeand Yoshioka ………………….………………………......……. 28
1. Komayo’s Characteristics ………………………………… 29
2. Kikuchiyo’s Characteristics ………………………………. 33
3. Rikiji’s Characteristics ……………………………………. 35
4. Hanasuke’s Characteristics ……………………………….. 36
B. The Conflicts Faced by the Main Characters in Relation to Love And Money ……………………………………………………... 41
1. Komayo’s Conflicts ………………………………………. 42
2. Kikuchiyo’s Conflicts …………………………………….. 45
3. Rikiji’s Conflicts ………………………………………….. 46
4. Hanasuke’s Conflicts ……………………………………… 47
5. Yoshioka’s Conflicts ……………………………………… 48
C. The Significance of Love and Money in Geisha’s Life as Reflected through the Characterization of the Main Characters and Conflicts 49
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION …………………………………………... 56 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………… 63 APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………….. 65 Summary of Geisha in Rivalry ………………………………….
65
ABSTRACT
GABRIELLA NUGRAHENI ARUMINGTYAS. The Significance of Love and
Money in Geisha’s Life as Reflected through the Characterization of the
Main Characters and Conflicts in Kafu Nagai’s Geisha in Rivalry.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010.
This undergraduate thesis examines Kafu Nagai’s novel entitled Geisha in
Rivalry. The novel is interesting to discuss because it deals with the life of geisha
that is different from the life of common people. The novel presents the rivalry among the geisha in Shimbashi district in order to get the money and love.
There are three problems to be discussed in this study. The fisrt is the description of the main characters: Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji, Hanasuke and Yoshioka. The second is the description of conflicts that are undergone by the main characters. The third is the importance of love and money in geisha’s life that are reflected through the characterization of the main characters and main character’s conflicts.
The writer used the library research in collecting the data. The socio- cultural historical approach is employed as the approach in this thesis because the writer studies the social condition and cultural condition of geisha in Japan society
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in early 20 century. By this approach, the writer will be able to get the
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understanding of the society’s habits and manner of the geisha in early 20 century.
As a result of the study, the writer concludes, first, there are five main characters in the novel. They are Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji, Hanasuke and Yoshioka. Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji and Hanasuke are described as Shimbashi geisha who are trapped in a rivalry among geisha in Shimbashi district in order to get the money and love. Yoshioka is described as a man who enjoys geisha’s service. Yoshioka also described as a man who colored the rivalry among geisha in Shimbashi district. Second, the conflicts which are undergone by the main characters, both are external and internal conflicts. Third, through characterization of the main characters and the main character’s conflict in relation with the importance of love and money, it is reflected in the novel that the geisha always try to get both of the money and love in their life. The money is important to fulfill their physical need and the love is very important for their emotional aspect. The ideal geisha should be the geisha who can reach the success in economic aspect or the money and the success in relationship with the opposite sex or the love. However in the fact, it is hard for a geisha to get success in both of the economic aspect and the emotional aspect. They have to choose one of them and make the decision as a focus of their life’s goal.
ABSTRAK
GABRIELLA NUGRAHENI ARUMINGTYAS. The Significance of Love and
Money in Geisha’s Life as Reflected through the Characterization of the
Main Characters and Conflicts in Kafu Nagai’s Geisha in Rivalry.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2010.
Tesis ini membahas novel karangan Kafu Nagai yang berjudul Geisha in
Rivalry. Novel tersebut menarik untuk diteliti karena membahas kehidupan geisha
yang berbeda dari kehidupan orang pada umumnya. Novel tersebut menampilkan persaingan antara geisha di distrik Shimbashi demi mendapatkan uang dan cinta.
Ada tiga rumusan masalah yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Pertama, gambaran tentang karakter tokoh-tokoh utama: Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji, Hanasuke dan Yoshioka. Kedua, gambaran tentang konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh-tokoh utama. Ketiga, pentingnya cinta dan uang dalam kehidupan geisha tercermin melalui gambaran tentang karakter tokoh-tokoh utama dan melalui konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh-tokoh utama.
Penulis menggunakan penelitian pustaka dalam pengumpulan data. Pendekatan sosio-kultural historikal digunakan sebagai pendekatan dalam tesis ini karena penulis membahas keadaan social dan budaya geisha di masyarakat Jepang pada awal abad ke 20. Dengan pendekatan tersebut, penulis dapat memahami kebiasaan dan perilaku geisha pada awal abad ke 20.
Sebagai hasil penelitian, penulis menyimpulkan, pertama, ada lima tokoh utama dalam novel. Yaitu Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji, Hanasuke dan Yoshioka. Komayo, Kikuchiyo, Rikiji dan Hanasuke digambarkan sebagai geisha di distrik Shimbasi yang terlibat persaingan untuk memperebutkan uang dan cinta. Yoshioka digambarkan sebagai pria yang menikmati pelayanan geisha. Yoshioka juga digambarkan sebagai pria yang mewarnai persaingan diantara geisha di distrik Shimbashi. Kedua, konflik-konflik yang dialami tokot-tokoh utama, baik konflik internal maupun eksternal. Melalui melalui gambaran tentang karakter tokoh-tokoh utama dan melalui konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh-tokoh utama tercermin pentingnya cinta dan uang bagi geisha. Geisha selalu berusaha mendapatkan keduanya. Uang penting untuk memenuhi kebutuhan fisik mereka sedangkan cinta diperlukan untuk mengisi kebutuhan emosional mereka. Geisha yang ideal adalah geisha yang mampu mendapatkan cinta dan uang. Namun pada kenyataannya, sangat sulit bagi seorang geisha untuk mendapatkan kesuksesan di kedua bidang, bidang keuangan dan emosional. Mereka harus memilih satu diantaranya dan menjadikannya fokus tujuan hidup mereka.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study By reading literary works such as novels, poems, and short stories we can
get many benefits. Not only we get pleasure by reading them, we also can learn something from the piece of literature that we read. After we read a novel, for example, we can compare the condition of the society in the novel to the real condition of our society. We can see the phenomenon in our society from different perspective.
Japan is one of the countries in the world which have an interesting culture. We only get a little understanding of Japanese culture since during more than two centuries Japan lived in completely seclusion. One of Japan’s cultures that is interesting to be analyzed is about the life of geisha. Geisha are Japanese girls or women who are trained to provide entertaining and light hearted company especially for a man or a group of men (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary , 1993: 483). The life of geisha is interesting to be analyzed because the
way they live their life is different from other Japanese. The geisha are basically constructed from the beginning to devote their life to entertain people and preserve the Japanese culture, and they live in a special district called hanamachi, “flower town” in Kyoto and Tokyo.
There are five geisha districts (hanamachi, “flower towns”) in Kyoto,
Shimbashi and Akasaka, the favorite district of powerful leaders of political factions (Perkins, 1991: 111). In the study, the writer wants to analyze the significance of love and money in geisha’s life as seen through the characterization of the main character and the conflicts faced by the main character of the novel. People who are not Japanese find some difficulties to understand the geisha’s life since geisha is a term that is only available in Japanese culture. Money and love are something that is important in human life. People need money to buy their daily needs to buy foods, to buy clothes, to pay the rent of apartment or house, and many others.
Love is included in emotions and there are many forms of love. Human needs love to fill the emotional aspect in their life. Money and love are also very important things for geisha. Moreover, geisha have a different way of life. It is interesting to find out the importance of love and money for geisha since geisha’s life is different from common people. Perkins in her book stated that from the beginning geisha is treated differently, a geisha experiences an expensive and exclusive way of life.
The geisha world is poetically known as karyukai, the “flower and willow world”. Geisha still wear beautiful, expensive kimono and elegant hairstyles and stylized white make up known as shiroi (Perkins, 1991: 111).
A geisha is an entertainer whose job is to entertain men in a banquet or a party. A geisha has to have a beautiful and glamorous appearance. The main duty of geisha is to entertain people and preserve the Japanese culture.
The geisha is literally a person of pleasing accomplishment and is instructed solely to be that. Her training often rigorous gives her skill in respect the aesthetic of Japanese culture (Japanese Woman: A Pictorial, 195: 5). Geisha have to be a good entertainer and they have to learn about Japanese culture and they must have the ability to play Japanese music instrument or have to be good dancers. Many geisha also study ikebana, “flower arranging”, Japanese tea ceremony, and calligraphy. Considering their life style, geisha need a lot of money to cover their expenses on their lessons in training process, kimonos, cosmetics, accessories and other daily needs. Geisha also have different daily activities to common people. Geisha have a monotonous way of life which is centralized on the fact that geisha is constructed to be a perfect entertainer.
Considering their condition, geisha need to balance their emotional and financial aspects of their life. Love is a thing that can fill emotional aspect of geisha. That reason makes love a very important thing in geisha’s life.
Geisha in Rivalry is originally published in 1918 as Udekurabe. It is
regarded as the masterpiece of Kafu Nagai. Nagai Kafu (1879-1959) was a Japanese novelist whose translated works include Autumn Wind and Other
Stories; American Stories, and During the Rains and Flowers in the Shades: Two Novellas (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/401557/Nagai-Kafu). This
novel tells about the life of Komayo, a geisha in Shimbashi district. Shimbashi is one of the district in Tokyo which if famous of its hanamachi. Komayo in this novel is described as a woman who is tough, smart, and full of consideration in doing her action. But at the same time, Kafu Nagai shows us her weak aspect.
Though she finds herself at the top of her career, Komayo stuck on a complicated rivalry among the geisha in Shimbashi. The rivalry is not only about the opportunity to be a prosperous geisha but also about love form their patrons.
Kafu Nagai's story bring the readers to see the intimate corners of the geisha house to the back rooms of assignation, from the dressing areas of the great kabuki theaters to the lonely country villa of a theater critic and connoisseur of Shimbashi women
B. Problem Formulations
Based on the background of the study above, there are three problems that will be discussed in the study. The problems are formulated in the questions below:
1. How are the main characters described?
2. What are the conflicts in relation to love and money faced by the main characters?
3. What is the significance of love and money in geisha’s life as reflected through the characterization of the main characters and conflicts in Kafu Nagai’s
Geisha in Rivalry ?
C. Objectives of the Study
Considering the problems formulation above, there are three objectives of this study. The first objective is to describe the main characters’ characterization the conflicts faced by the main characters that related to love and money. The third objective is to find the significance of love and money in geisha’s life as reflected through the characterization of the main characters and conflicts in Kafu Nagai’s Geisha in Rivalry.
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid ambiguity and provide the right understanding of the study, the writer gives this definition to help the reader understand the meaning of the term related to the study. The terms that are needed to be explained are geisha, money, love and conflict.
1. Geisha
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines geisha as a Japanese girl
or woman who is trained to provide entertaining and light hearted company especially for a man or a group of men (1993: 483).
Geisha also known as geigi or geiko are women skilled in classical dancing, singing, playing a banjo-like stringed instrument called the samishen and witty conversation who entertain wealthy clients at banquets. Geisha means “art person”. They are very knowledgeable about etiquette and the wearing of elaborate kimono (Perkins, 1991: 111).
2. Money
According to Webster’s New Explorer Encyclopedic Dictionary, money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment. And the form of money can be an officially coined or stamped metal currency; money of account; and paper money (2006: 1180).
3. Love
There are some definitions of love. But the definition used in this analysis is taken from Webster’s New Explorer Encyclopedic Dictionary. Webster’s New
Explorer Encyclopedic Dictionary defines love as an attraction based on sexual
desire, affection and tenderness felt by lovers and affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interest (2006: 1086). Encyclopedia of Ethics: Volume 1
A-K notes that love, together with some virtues such as compassion, benevolence,
and sympathy are included in emotions (1992: 302).According to the International Encyclopedia of Ethics, there are some kinds of love. One of the main discussions among the philosophers is the difference between the Agape-love and the Eros-love.
The classic description of Eros-love is contained in Plato’s dialogue
Symposium . Plato characterized love as a desire for pure beauty. One
does not love others because of their beautiful qualities but because they are instance of, and point to, “the Beauty itself”. Moreover, those who love pure beauty do so in order to satisfy a self-directed desire – the desire to know beauty, not just for the moment, but forever. The receiving character of this love, which it has in common with sexual love, has been contrasted with the giving character of agape love. Agape-love is said to bestow worth on its object instead of being derived from its object’s worth, and it is said to exclude self-love, unlike Eros, which is essentially self –love (1995: 510). The love represented in the novel is not the agape-love but the Eros-love since the love here is the love to satisfy the sexual desire and the love feeling that raising from the loneliness.
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies Critics may give comments, reviews and ideas about particular literary
work. The comments, reviews and ideas are called as the literary criticism. We may get more understanding about the author and the literary work through the literary criticism.
In this thesis, the writer wants to analyze Geisha in Rivalry, a novel written by Nagai Kafu in 1918. Geisha in Rivalry is regarded as the masterpiece of Nagai Kafu, a Japanese novelist known for his brilliant renderings of Tokyo in the early years of modern Japan. There are many criticisms given to the novel and the author.
Bradley Winterton in Taipe Times states that Kafu’s Geisha in Rivalry is a wonderful novel in a swift narrative style and rich description and incisive analysis of feeling and motives. He also explains the strength point of the novel. Kafu can bring the rivalry atmosphere in his novel vividly.
Rivalry is a wonderful novel, with clearly distinguished characters, a swift narrative style, rich descriptions and incisive analyses of feelings and motives. It's set around 1912 but still defining the life in the pleasure quarters are the ways of the Edo period which had ended over 40 years before, so that geishas continue to preside over the tea ceremony, dress with astonishing formality, and entertain rich businessmen, initially at least with performances on the shamisen. Kafu understands perfectly well that differences of money, and hence of power, lie behind the sexual games his characters play. (Winterton, 2008: 18). Zack Davisson gives comment on Geisha in Rivalry. He states that the most charming thing of the novel is the description of geisha’s daily life and the rivalry among them in Shimbashi district. The geisha in the novel are shown as common people who can face the problem, the happiness and the sadness.
The geisha here are just allowed to be people, and interact in a regular old-fashioned love/rival story, rather than serving as some great symbol of refined and mysterious Japan. Instead, they are just human beings doing a job, not all of them happy with it, not all of them good at it, but all of them determined to make some go at happiness, by hook or by crook. ( http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NDY4UMKC78L3/
viewpnt#R2NDY4UMKC78L3 ).
Luc Reynaert states that the novel is the vivid description of geisha world in Tokyo. According to him, Kafû's novels are a real living source of the `water trade', the shady world of a geisha quarter in Tokyo with its `high' and `low' houses, its bosses and accountants, its madams and `servants'. Kafu’s picture of the trade is melancholic. Kafu sees through the white masks and the kimono glitter of the geisha professionals: `Once you become a geisha, no matter what you do, it's hopeless.' Nearly all the geishas in Kafû's novels chose this profession out of economic necessity (if they were not sold by their parents), as a means of survival. The studies are extremely hard and expensive. They are financed by `investors' who want their money back as quick as possible. Geishas are saddled with huge amounts of debt before they can earn a living. Therefore, they search desperately for a rich danna (patron) or outright for a husband, who can reimburse their debt and set them free. The rivalry for that kind of persons is fierce and without pity. It is a world where the `human touch' is a real exception. But, for Kafû, it is the same the other way round: `People are saying that what's more important than her good looks is her big dowry.' Still according to him, Kafu’s novels excel by their subtle, impressionistic, colorful picture of a harsh profession, by his in depth search for the human faces behind the varnish and by their subdued atmosphere (http://www.amazon.co.uk/product- reviews/0804833249).
Roland A. Lange in JSTOR:Journal of the American Oriental Society states that Geisha in Rivalry reflects the author’s sympathy toward Geisha and the Japanese art.
His work bears an undeniable tinge of sympathy for the institution of the geisha and nostalgia for the fading of traditional Japanese arts, but also presents an intimate view by an observer whose eyes were open to all the sordidness and frustration which exist behind the romantic façade of this profession (1964: 473). Not all the reviews and the comments on Geisha in Rivalry are positive. Some critics criticize about the unpleasant things inside the novel as well.
Edward G. Seidensticker gives a review about Kafu’s Geisha in Rivalry in
JSTOR:Journal of the American Oriental Society. He states that Udekurabe, the
original title of Geisha in Rivalry has an unstructured organized plot. However the novel shows Kafu’s characteristic in his writing. He compares the novel with
Sumidagawa and Reisho.
Udekurabe is in one sense a commendable choice: it offers Kafu’s economical and reposed Sumidagawa been chosen, and defects had the choice been the rambling, quarrelsome Reisho (Seidensticker, 1963: 523). According to Seidensticker the novels Sumidagawa and Reisho are having more structured plot than the Udekurabe. However the Udekurabe offers the original writing style of the author. The readers can see the way of the author to show the virtues and the moral lesson.
The studies that have mentioned above gave the writer an idea to make a different analysis than they did. The writer of the thesis focuses on the importance of love and money in geisha’s life revealed through the characterization of the main characters and the conflicts in relation to love and money faced by the main characters. That is the reason why the study will be different from the previous studies that are mentioned above.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Every fiction such as novel, poetry and drama, has characters to present the human being. Characters as a part of the intrinsic elements of a work of literature usually carry a message. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms says that the characters are “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say and by what they do.
(1985: 23) “. Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature believable people (1971: 20). Although the character is a fictional character, the characteristic is usually based on the real person in the world. In other words, the characters are the imitation of human being in reality.
Still, according to M. H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms (1985: 24) there are two kinds of characters as quoted in the following.
A flat character is built around “a single idea or quality” and is presented without much individualizing detail, and therefore can be fairly adequately described in a single phrase or sentence. A round character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularly; such a character therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life, and like real person, is capable of surprising us. From the quotation above, a flat character is defined as a character which is presented generally and without much detail information. On the contrary, round character is defined as a character which is more complex than flat character. The round character will develop and the development of the round character sometimes surprises the reader.
The characterization is the way the author creates the character. Therefore, characterization should be conveyed into good way in order to create a clear image to the reader perception (Rorhberger, 1971: 20).
While, according to Murphy in his book Understanding the Unseen: An
Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Student , there
are nine ways in which an author characterizes his/her in a novel (1972: 161-173):
The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes. The author gives the readers the details of the character, for example about the posture, the color of the skin, the hair, the face, and the clothing.
2. Character as seen by another.
Instead of describing a character directly, the author can describe him through the eyes and the opinion of another. The reader gets, as it were, a reflected image.
3. Speech The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what the person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clues to his character.
4. Past life By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person.
5. Conversation of others.
The author can also gives the reader clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him. People do talk about other people and the things they say often give us a clue to the character of the person spoken about.
6. Reactions.
The author can also give the reader a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events.
7. Direct comment.
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
8. Thoughts.
The author can give the reader direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can tell us what different people are thinking. In the novel we accept this. The reader then is in privileged position; he has, as it were, a secret listening device plugged in to the inmost thoughts of a person in the novel.
9. Mannerism.
The author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits, or idiosyncrasies, which may also tell the reader something about his character.
2. Theory of Conflict
Conflict plays the important role in a plot of a story. Redman in A Second
Book of Plays states that conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces,
ideas, or beliefs, which is the basic of the plot. In most of the plays the conflict is resolved when one force, usually the protagonist, succeeds or fails in overcoming the opposite force which is usually the antagonist (1964: 363). It means that the protagonist has a responsibility to bring the conflict to its end.
Redman also divides conflict into two kinds, the internal conflict and the external conflict. The inner conflict is the struggle between the heart and the mind of the protagonist. It is the conflict between oneself. The external conflict is the struggle between the protagonist and an outside force. The example is the conflict between two or more people (1964: 363).
3. The Relation between Literature and Society
An author is usually influenced by his/her surrounding aspects such as the social, historical, cultural, political, and the economic aspect because the author is also the part of society.
In their book, Theory of Literature, Wellek and Warren state that there is a relationship between literature and the society. They stated that literature has usually arisen in close connection with particular social institutions and also has a social function, or ‘use’, which cannot be purely individual (1956: 94).
Further, Wellek and Warren explain that literature and the society have a relation. The relation between literature and society begins with a point that De Bonald suggested, that literature is an expression of society:
The relation between literature and society is usually discussed by starting with the phrase, derived from De Bonald, that ‘literature is an expression of society’. But what does this axiom mean? If it assumes that literature, at any given time, mirrors the current social situation ‘correctly’, it is false; it is commonplace, trite, and vague if it means only that literature depicts some aspects of social reality (1956: 95).
Literature expresses the reality since the author is the part of the society. Yet, it does not mean that the author mirrors the society. The author, as part of the society is aware of condition of the society and the values that exist in the society.
He/she should aware of the specific social situation in his/her era such as the political, economic, social, and religious condition and should represent it in his/her work. Literature expresses the life in more ambiguous way.
C. Review of Geisha
Geisha also known as geigi or geiko is women skilled in classical dancing, singing, playing a banjo-like stringed instrument called the samishen and witty conversation who entertain wealthy clients at banquets. Geisha means “art person”. They are very knowledgeable about etiquette and the wearing of elaborate kimono (Perkins, 1991: 111).
1. The History of Geisha
Geisha is a profession that has a long history. Megan Winkler in her article courtesan, and the odoriko, or the female dancer (http://japanese- history.suite101.com/article.cfm/geisha). Naomi Graham – Diaz in her article states that geisha profession had been started long time ago. The existence of geisha’s culture firstly in the Tokugawa or Edo period (1600 - 1869).
1750-1751 saw the beginnings of the new class emerge from Kyoto and Osaka—the so-called “geiko”. Geiko originally were men, derived from the previously known group of Taikomochi. These men had been around entertaining in various ways since the Kwambun era (1661- 1672), but had been solely male until the first female geisha, Kikuya from Fukagawa , appeared (http://www.immortalgeisha.com/history_01.php). Although the first geisha are male geisha, female geisha soon became popular enough to be able to steal clients from the courtesans.
Around the 1680’s, young teenage dancers, whose parents sent them to dance teachers for the purpose of having them trained so that they could hire them out, were becoming quite popular in the households of the Daimyo and upper- class samurai. Originally, these girls were put out for hire without the offering of sexual acts, but over the years, with many parents starting to exploit their daughters, many of the odoriko had turned to prostitution. The old list from 1762 recorded the first female geisha in Yoshiwara as being Kazen of the Ogiya brothel, although odoriko (calling themselves geisha) had been listed working as early as 1752. The saiken from 1769 however, was the first one to have an individual listing of the names of all geisha in service. By 1779, female geisha had become so popular and greatly in demand that they had even started to rival the courtesans and take on their clients (http://www.immortalgeisha.com/history_01.php).
A former brothel owner, Daikokuya Shoroku concerned with both the fact that geisha were threatening the carefully regulated structure of Yoshiwara, and with the fact that they were avoiding paying any taxes, came up with an idea. He conceived of the idea to register geisha, both male and female. With the unprotected approval of the Yoshiwara officials, he then created the first kenban, a system that still prevails today. The newly formed kenban set itself up at the great gates, and proceeded to bring the geisha under control with the issuing of new rules and regulations. With his concern that geisha were openly competing with the courtesans for their customers, strict sumptuary edicts were issued.
In former times, poor girls were often indentured to geisha houses by their parents and were required to work hard as maids before training to be geisha.
Now women make their own choice to become geisha, and they are legally required to stay in school through age 15. Many become geisha in their 20s without a period of apprentice (Perkins, 1991: 112).