Masks

"Masks is a powerful and profound work of literature. Published in 1958, it demonstrates the ways in which women continued to struggle under the patriarchal system despite legal changes to women’s rights with the post-war Japanese constitution. Whilst the post-war constitution granted women certain rights, they remained subject to many of the same social practices and norms that had been in place under the ie , the traditional family system. There is so much to love about this novel. To begin with, there is a wonderful connection to literary history provided by an essay embedded within the narrative. The character Mieko authors an essay that effectively offers an apologetics of the Lady Rokujō, a figure from Shikibu Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji . It is probably the most famous work of pre-modern Japanese literature and the world’s first novel, written by a court lady in the 11th century . The Tale of Genji focuses on the life of Hikaru Genji, the son of an Emperor, and his various political and romantic escapades. The Lady Rokujō is an older woman with whom he has a brief relationship, and who has been represented, not just in the story but also in subsequent literary criticism, as the archetypal woman scorned. Insulted by Genji’s ill treatment of her, the Lady Rokujō’s malevolent spirit manifests itself to several of Genji’s love interests, killing one and frightening others. To put it simply, the Lady Rokujō gets a very bad rap and becomes infamous for her jealous and vindictive nature. Mieko offers an alternative perspective on the Lady Rokujō, and suggests that she is part of a historical lineage of women who have been wronged and silenced. Masks is striking for its conspicuous absence of patriarchal figures and its lack of strong male characters. The character Mieko effectively thwarts the patriarchal system by installing a covertly corrupted matriarchal line, and the way in which she accomplishes this in the plot is just brilliant. That depends on how you define ‘feminism’, but I think that, as an author, Enchi activates what many contemporary readers would consider to be a feminist perspective. At the same time, however, Mieko and other female protagonists in Enchi’s broader oeuvre are women who have dutifully fulfilled their roles as wives and mothers in society. Their resistance against the patriarchy and female oppression is expressed in more subtle ways. In Masks , that resistance is orchestrated by Mieko and executed in clandestine fashion by the female characters in the narrative. But what a delightfully skilful manipulation it is! As a reader, there is a certain pleasure in allowing the narrative to take you where it will. At the same time, the act of reading Masks is a dynamic endeavour as you discover something new – something you perhaps had not noticed before – every time you read it. It never ceases to surprise me."