History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

History - Assignment Example The book also records the appreciation and appraisals for her contemporaries and colleagues like Izumi Shikibu and Akazome Emon. The tale diary also unfolds a saga of rivalry between Murasaki Shikibu and her contemporary Sei Shonagon. Along with this, the book evolves out to be one of the most enlightening literary pieces as it captures the authoress’ profound vision on life. The rivalry between, Shikibu and Shonagon composes a formative part of the autobiography and is most instrumental in learning about the socio-economic condition of China during that period in general and women of the Chinese society in particular as the book involves a strong feministic approach being the mirror of a woman’s mind. Both Murasaki and Sei were appointed as the teachers to the Empress Akiko and Empress Sadako. They used to impart education to the Empresses how to lure, seduce, attract and achieve Emperor Ichijo. From this fact, it can be easily contended that the status of the women in the contemporary society was that of a subjugated status. Women were educated not for their own sake but for attracting men or their prospective grooms and this was prevalent in all the classes of the society. Shonagon, the greatest rival of Shikibu, is described in her diary as the woman who is very ambitious and her pursuit for ambition is described as quite desperate which indicates that over ambitious attitude in women were not encouraged in the society of that period. Women were required and expected to be extreme feminine, quite and demure. Expressing fort right opinion in the case of the women was not acceptable in the social context and milieu of Shikibu’s time. Under this situation, Shonagon was projected as a woman who devastated every opposition by the force of her sarcasm and that of her wit. On the other hand, Shikibu described herself as a quite lady who was not able to mix properly with the society and for this reason she explained that she was looked down upon