I enjoyed seeing the Lady challenge societal expectations and assert agency. However, many people in the story found this "usual" and so they talked/laughed about her. So, I wonder if the Lady would feel lonely? In a more broader question, should we balance our individual identity with the pressure to conform to societal expectations or should we act indifferent like the Lady?
The Lady Who Loved Insects
Tsutsumi Chunagon Monogatari
When reading "The Lady Who Loved Insects," I found it a story similar to last week because we are once again seeing the protagonist not following the society norms and doing her own things. How unlike other women who favored plucking their eyebrows and painting artificial ones higher on their foreheads, like we have discussed in class we see her not following this customs. She also doesn't blacken their teeth as signs of beauty as well. This lady is more interested in the natural world, and we see this when she studies insects. A section of the reading that really portrays how she doesn't follow the custom ways is "She rejects cosmetics, wears the wrong colors, lets her hair go uncombed, talks in a loud voice, moves briskly, pontificates, and carelessly exposes herself to the eyes of men... absorption in the ways of verminous creatures...abetted by a bunch of disreputable boys whom she employs to catch them for her," (43). A question I had when reading this was how did her childhood impact her to become somewhat of a rebel to traditional norms?
It was interesting to read another story where the main character challenges societal norms in regards to her appearance and identity. However, although it featured similar themes, the ending felt very different from that of Torikaebaya. In Torikaebaya, the siblings returned to the original genders that they were born with in order to be more socially "accepted" in society and have more agency and feel liberated. This is largely because they felt so uncomfortable with being seen as "unusual" when they were living as opposite genders. However, the lady in this story fully embraces being unusual. Furthermore, she is more accepted by those around her even though she breaks so many societal norms. Is this the message that the author was trying to convey? Is the lady in this story more accepted by those around her than the siblings in Torikaebaya because she embraces her unusualness, or just because having odd interests and not meeting societal expectations for appearance is more acceptable than living a different gender identity than you were born with?
The lady who loved insects is probably the most successful “against society protagonist we have seen so far”. However, it seems to stem from her inner confidence, which allows her to move freely and not worry about the opinions of other. I wonder what sort of upbringing allowed her to develop such characteristics? Another question (Myrah) mentioned the privilege that is automatically associated with being able to have non-conforming opinions. Could we say the lady who loved insects had ingrained privileges stemming from her ability to express unique opinions?
I really enjoy reading stories like this one, especially after we read The Changelings because they provide another example of someone challenging societal norms and expectations. The girl in the story doesn't care about what other people think of her, she rejects traditional beauty standards and participates in activities that are not typically considered feminine. Unlike the siblings in The Changelings, she handles criticism with ease, which I found fascinating. On a different note, I'm curious about the dynamics of friendships between boys and girls. It seems that every story we read in class with a man and a woman interacting is automatically assumed to be a romance, so could you elaborate more on what this looked like?
This story was quite an interesting read. As other people have said, the lady is unconventional and can be paralleled to numerous adventurous or rebellious female characters in Disney. Moreover, the lady is similar to Naishi no Kami and Chunagon from Torikaebaya in the way that they are both viewed as unconventional yet sought over. In Torikaebaya, the main characters are unconventional as they switched genders and are very reserved. In this reading, the lady refuses to follow societal norms yet there are two men who are curious to see her. I was wondering whether the lady would’ve suffered some form of punishment if this were to actually happen? I think that for the Heian period, the parents seem quite relaxed about their daughter being so unusual especially with a tremendous amount of societal pressure associated with that time period. Is it possible that the lady would’ve been disowned and view as an outcast from society?
While reading The Lady Who Loved Insects, I found it extremely interesting how so many early Japanese texts were defiant and broke societal norms. I got the sense of the lesson of looking beyond appearances and accepting diversity/individuality. The common association of bugs and ugliness is thrown out the window with this text, putting down the idea of reflecting superficial judgements. The main character’s fascination with insects symbolizes a deeper understanding of beauty and nature, one that goes beyond the surface level. What does The Lady Who Loved Insects suggest about how people in the Heian period balanced personal interests with the pressure to conform to societal expectations?
I wonder if the “unusualness” of the Lady has less to do with her interest in insects but more with her relatively ‘alternative’ view (within the context of the Heian period) on education and the concept of intelligence. It seems that in being openly curious about various bug species, she is also engaging in a kind of education and curiosity that does not adhere to and even opposes the idea that one should blindly follow established rules in a society. Rather than simply accepting rules, she approaches them with curiosity, asks questions, and forms her own opinion, which certainly does not seem to be the norm in education during the Heian period. In addition to speaking on the gender/gender role incompatibility that constitutes “unusualness,” I wonder if this story is also commenting on the restrictive nature of Heian period education and its conception of wisdom.
One thing that stood out to me was the lady's fixation on the process of beauty in the caterpillar rather than the surface-level concept of beauty that reflects Heian values. It is also mentioned that modern readers can sympathize with this thinking but readers during the Heian period would have found this concept grotesque. I am wondering at what point would the Heian period perspective on this matter would have shifted and what prompted this shift?
I think this is an interesting case of unconventionality in Heian Japan. Rather than challenging gender ideas/roles by switching like in Torikaebaya, the lady in this story defies societal expectations as whole, not using cosmetics and being interested in something unusual for both genders. It also shows more of the general response to this unusualness; the lady is almost bullied by her ladies in waiting, who recite rude poems about her, and people spy on her and play pranks on her. Despite this, the man at the end still sends her a letter and seems amused by her unusualness; maybe showing that intellectuality / unusual interests wasn't necessarily social suicide.