Complete 3 page APA formatted essay: Reeds and Serpents: Neglected Women in Japanese Yomihon.Download file to see previous pages... Interestingly, both stories basically assume the neglectful behavior

Complete 3 page APA formatted essay: Reeds and Serpents: Neglected Women in Japanese Yomihon.

Interestingly, both stories basically assume the neglectful behavior is normal, as neither man is punished for his actions. On the other hand, the tones of the two tales are very different, suggesting that perhaps the reason the women act differently is because of the effect the story is trying to achieve. "The Reed-Choked House," while still a ghost story, is essentially about love in uncertain times. "A Serpent's Lust," though, is about the dangers of being lazy and undisciplined. Ultimately, despite the effects each story gives, both still seem to justify—or at least accept—men's neglect of women, as there are no real consequences for the men in either story.

Ultimately, then, neither of these stories do anything to suggest that men should stop neglecting women, or that they should treat them more equally. It could be argued that this is because these are supposed to be folk tales, handed down in various villages. However, as the footnotes of the book mention, these are actually very literary tales, and were constructed, not actually passed down. In any case, even if the authors of these stories did not want to suggest that women should be ignored as men saw fit, the fact that this is what happens in both stories, even in the one where the woman is a forceful snake demon, suggests that this was certainly what the normal cultural practice was in Japan at the time.

The first of the two stories, "The Reed-Choked House" gives its readers a pretty clear idea of this justification right at the start. Katsushiro is described as "indifferent to details" and that he caused his family's poverty because he thought farming was "irksome".