The Tale of Genji: chapters 50-51, stepchildren, lack of privacy, Niou

1/ The Tale of Genji depicts the Japanese court, so it’s a world of culture, refinement, sensitivity, and elegance. But once in a while Murasaki Shikibu brings in an outsider such as Omi no Kimi (To no Chujo’s rustic daughter) or moves the narrative away from court, such as when we go back to Tamakazura’s upbringing (Yugao’s daughter) or now in chapter 50, when we read about Ukifune, her mother, and her stepfather—the coarse, uncouth Governor of Hitachi.  

As I read it in translation (Royall Tyler’s), I can see some difference when the characters are countrified and lack the elegance or artistic sensibility of the people at court. I also see the difference in the way Kaoru and Niou talk, for instance—Niou is full of sweet words and promises whereas Kaoru is in earnest and more serious, though sometimes he almost loses self-control. But normally I can barely tell if Murasaki Shikibu can create distinct, vivid voices for her characters to the same extent that Jane Austen does (or Nguyễn Du does in Truyện Kiều, even though it’s a long poem). 
It’s the same when I read other novels in translation. In Tolstoy for instance, the characters are complex and vividly real and the way they talk is definitely different, but in translation I cannot really hear their distinct voices the way I can hear, distinguish, and recognise the voices in Jane Austen. 

2/ In a conversation with the nurse, Ukifune’s mother makes an interesting point about polygamy—she and her husband are very different and may sometimes clash, but at least she doesn’t have to share him with anyone else. 
She changes her mind later, however, after seeing Niou and seeing how Naka no Kimi lives. 

3/ In The Tale of Genji, stepparent-stepchildren relationships are various.
Some are good. Murasaki raises and loves Akashi’s daughter as her own. Tamakazura is kind to Higekuro’s children by his first wife. After Higekuro’s death, she marries Kobai—each has their own children from the previous marriage and then they have children together, but the children are all treated as equal.
Some are bad. In the marriage of the Governor of Hitachi, the wife has her own favourite daughter (Ukifune), and he has his favourite daughter (a younger one, by her). Murasaki’s stepmother is a horrible woman who dislikes both Murasaki and Genji, and talks her husband into cutting ties with Murasaki after the banishment. The original Kokiden Consort in the story also dislikes Genji, but there’s a difference because it’s about politics, about the fear of loss of influence and power. 
Some stepparent-stepchildren relationships are plain weird. Genji bangs his own stepmother Fujitsubo. Utsusemi (cicada) gets harassed by her stepson and has to find refuge in religion.  

4/ The scenes of Ukifune’s mother at Nijo are interesting because they show life at court as seen by a true outsider. In a way, Akashi and Naka no Kimi have been outsiders, but not completely—the Akashi Novice is from court and Akashi’s brought up as a lady, with the elegance and accomplishments of a lady; Naka no Kimi is daughter of a prince, a prince who has fallen but who is a prince nevertheless. In addition, both of them are intelligent and sensitive, fully aware of the internal politics and power play at court, and therefore not easily overwhelmed by luxury. 
Ukifune’s mother, in contrast, has never seen anything remotely like court life—the Eighth Prince had a simple lifestyle and the Governor of Hitachi has wealth but no sense of culture and refinement. 
Her amazement and envy are very well depicted, especially when she thinks that Ukifune and Naka no Kimi have the same father and should have the same opportunities but so far have led very different lives. 

5/ Kaoru’s sudden removal of Ukifune to Uji makes me think of Genji’s abduction of the 10-year-old Murasaki. I’m not saying it’s the same—it’s not an abduction and people don’t object to it except for the timing (the 9th month is not a good month for marriage), but the suddenness is similar. 

“When he heard the other men come in and lie down, he called for his carriage to be brought to the double doors. Then he picked her up and put her in it.” (Ch.50) 

I mean, what?  
Here is what Kaoru thinks as he talks to, and observes, Ukifune: 

“He touched on the subject of His Late Highness and told her all sorts of amusing things about those days, but she remained so desperately shy and so bashfully unresponsive that he felt disappointed. Never mind, he thought, reconsidering, it is better to have her unfinished this way. I must teach her things. She would be no double of her if she liked to show off as rustics do, and if she were coarse and talked too fast.” (ibid.) 

Kaoru wants her to become a double of Oigimi, the same way Genji sees Fujitsubo in Murasaki and wants to mould her into his ideal woman. 
The whole thing considered alone is weird, but it appears okay and his removal of her to Uji becomes a rescue because of what Niou has just done—next to Niou the fuckboy, Kaoru looks like a saint. 

6/ One thing that strikes me as interesting about this world is that there can be no secrets. The noble men and ladies generally talk through intermediaries, with blinds and screens between them, and apart from husband, father, and sons, a lady only speaks to a man in her own voice when she feels that they are sufficiently close or intimate. I should add that it doesn’t necessarily mean they are in a relationship or about to be, just sufficiently close—for instance, some time after the Eight Prince’s death, Oigimi removes the intermediary between them so Kaoru can talk about his feelings in his own voice; Naka no Kimi over time allows Kaoru to hear her voice because he’s true to her sister and takes care of her family’s personal affairs like a brother. 
But there are always gentlewomen nearby, and the screens and walls aren’t particularly thick, so there’s no real privacy. 
People therefore do talk, except when something could lead to a great scandal and turn everything upside down—that’s why all the high-ranking people, especially the women, are afraid of their reputation getting tainted. 
In the novels, there are 2 big secrets but they don’t remain secrets forever—over time Reizei and then Kaoru learn about their own origins.  
Letter-writing and the use of carriages (with retainers and servants) also make it difficult to keep a secret. There are always too many people involved. It’s no wonder that Kaoru hides Ukifune away and sees her in secret but Niou still learns about it and finds out about her whereabouts. 

7/ At the same time, it also means that everyone takes part in betraying Kaoru. 
Niou behaves abominably, Ukifune also changes, but everyone else goes along with it and lies to Kaoru. 

8/ In chapter 51, for the first time the narrator follows a male character into a woman’s room and makes it clear that something is rape—Niou “stopped [Ukifune] crying out”. 
However she complicates the issue by depicting Ukifune the next day and afterwards as liking it, and even preferring the charming Niou to Kaoru. Murasaki Shikibu doesn’t say what she thinks about it, as usual—all she does is describing what different characters think. There is no doubt that Niou’s behaviour is abominable and unjustifiable—he wants to possess her after just a glimpse of her and pursues her at all costs. It is a blow to Kaoru and above all, a betrayal of his wife Naka no Kimi. But at the same time we also see that Ukifune hasn’t chosen to be with Kaoru, and in her naïveté and inexperience, she has passionate feelings for Niou and feels torn between the two. 
Kaoru puts Ukifune in a carriage and sends her to a house in Uji, hiding her from everyone. Then Niou picks her up to a house on the other side of the river, to enjoy 2 full days with her. Later when Kaoru plans to move her to a newly built house at court, Niou tries to arrange sending her to a house somewhere else, to hide her from him. The 2 men are not the same and Kaoru doesn’t betray anyone (he’s open with his wife), but it’s still a fact that both of them treat Ukifune like a toy, a plaything, to move around and hide from each other. 
In the Uji chapters, Kaoru and Niou are different and not any less vividly real and complex than Genji. I may even say that Murasaki Shikibu’s genius lies especially in the depiction of Niou—he is a fuckboy, a selfish and contemptible womaniser, but he’s also a jealous and suspicious man who suspects Naka no Kimi of having an affair with Kaoru and reproaches Ukifune for caring more about Kaoru, especially when he himself feels guilty. Deep down, he’s insecure and jealous of Kaoru, and wants to cut him down to size. This character is a magnificent creation. 

9/ Chapter 51 is a deeply moving chapter.
The name of the chapter, “Ukifune”, means “drifting boat” or “boat adrift”. As Royall Tyler explains, it is Ukifune’s simile for herself in a poem to Niou as they cross the Uji river, and becomes her nickname in the story. 
The image is perfect. Kaoru and Niou may speak of their misery and suffering, but she is the one who suffers the most, because she’s a woman. 
The drifting image reminds me of the poem “Bánh trôi nước” by Hồ Xuân Hương (18th century Vietnamese female poet):  

Thân em vừa trắng là vừa tròn
Bảy nổi ba chìm với nước non
Rắn nát mặc dầu tay kẻ nặn
Mà em vẫn giữ tấm lòng son

Bánh trôi nước is the name of a Vietnamese dessert. Here are 3 different translations of the poem: 
The Floating Cake (translated by John Balaban):

My body is white; my fate, softly rounded,
Rising and sinking like mountains in streams.
Whatever way hands may shape me,
At center my heart is red and true.

The Cake That Drifts In Water (translated by Huỳnh Sanh Thông):

My body is both white and round
In water I now swim, now sink.
The hand that kneads me may be rough—
I still shall keep my true-red heart.

Floating Sweet Dumpling (translated by Marilyn Chin):

My body is powdery white and round
I sink and bob like a mountain in a pond
The hand that kneads me is hard and rough
You can’t destroy my true red heart