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“Though still a bud the violet be,
A still unopened blossom here,
Its tenderness has charms for me,
Recalling one no longer near.”
In “Young Violet,” Genji begins training Violet, a child he kidnapped, in the courtly arts, and he gives her the above poem as part of this instruction. The poem implies a courtship in the future, and it also provides insight into Genji’s motivations in adopting Violet. The poem makes it clear that Genji's attraction to Violet derives from her similarity to someone else, "one no longer near." The repetition of the word "still" in the poem’s first two lines emphasizes that Violet is still young; her charms are at this point all borrowed, although her training, of which the poem is a part, is intended to make it possible for her to inspire “tenderness” without the help of anyone else.
Note: While ideas about consent and age of maturity at the time of this book's publication differed greatly from ours, Genji’s actions with Violet will no doubt present a challenge for twenty-first century readers. It's not entirely clear how old she is when Genji "consummates" their relationship, but even so, his actions can be considered problematic at best and abhorrent at worst.
“Call to your mind affairs in general, and judge of them. Is it not always true that reality and sincerity are to be preferred to merely artificial excellence?”
Sama-no-Kami asks this question in the second chapter of The Tale of Genji and, even though he is sometimes pompous, he introduces with it a key concern the novel will explore. By “artificial excellence,” Sama-no-Kami is suggesting things, like poems or paintings, that appear to be good but that contain no depth of feeling; they lack the sensibility that animates a work of art. Given that this question comes up in the conversation about women, one could also infer that he is indicting women who are pretty but lack character or skills. Sama-no-Kami’s reference to “reality” and “sincerity” is more complicated, given that much of The Tale of Genji is characterized by obscurity, a recurring motif in the book. Sincerity is not necessarily a word usually associated with seducers like Genji, but it would be an error to measure Genji by contemporary or Western norms for, although he does indeed seduce (or try to seduce) many women, he is sincere in his appreciation for them. He struggles to end relationships, as his waning interest in the Lady of Rojukō demonstrates, but is loyal to even those women he no longer finds attractive.
“The tomb was placed among tall growing grass, under thick and gloomy foliage. Genji advanced to the tomb, and, half kneeling down before it, and half sobbing, uttered many words of remembrance and sorrow. Of course no reply came forth. The moon by this time was hidden behind dark clouds…when suddenly a shadowy phantom of the dead appeared before Genji’s eyes.”
Before he leaves the capital for exile, Genji visits the tomb of his father, as depicted in this passage near the start of “Exile at Suma.” The description stresses Genji’s sensitivity, his ability to feel and express profound emotions, one of his character traits that is most prized across The Tale of Genji. The scene also offers a quick indication of how natural descriptions help to establish mood in the novel. The gloom of the foliage, the obscurity created by the grass, and the cloudy sky all convey the profound mystery of death. Genji might not be able to converse with his father directly, but he does see his phantom. Spirits appear to characters across the novel, some malevolent and others less so, but this apparition’s meaning is unknown, causing Genji to utter a poem about his ongoing guilt at the way he betrayed his father with Princess Wistaria. The reader might well wonder if this is an actual spirit or a manifestation of Genji’s desire for forgiveness for what is arguably his most serious transgression.
