The Akashi Lady is a young woman who lives in Akashi with her mother and father, the former governor. Though the former governor has high hopes for his daughter's future, the Akashi Lady herself is far more realistic about her prospects: she's happy when she's able to simply lay eyes on Genji and she's uninterested in pushing him to become involved with her, as she doesn't feel worthy enough. She's not described as being particularly beautiful, though she is kind, sensitive, and a skilled koto player. The former governor bullies her into corresponding with Genji and the two do begin a romance. Not long before Genji is called out of exile, she becomes pregnant with Genji's only daughter. Her daughter is born in the early spring, and Genji promises to bring the Akashi Lady and his wife to the city. However, Genji never follows through on this. Though the Akashi Lady is hurt, it's also implied that she never truly trusted him to follow through on this in the first place.
Akashi Lady Quotes in The Tale of Genji
The The Tale of Genji quotes below are all either spoken by Akashi Lady or refer to Akashi Lady. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Akashi
Quotes
He thought that he could hardly be expected to visit her. She had her own ideas. She knew that rustic maidens should come running at a word from a city gentleman who happened to be briefly in the vicinity. No, she did not belong to his world, and she would only be inviting grief if she pretended that she did.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Akashi Lady Quotes in The Tale of Genji
The The Tale of Genji quotes below are all either spoken by Akashi Lady or refer to Akashi Lady. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Akashi
Quotes
He thought that he could hardly be expected to visit her. She had her own ideas. She knew that rustic maidens should come running at a word from a city gentleman who happened to be briefly in the vicinity. No, she did not belong to his world, and she would only be inviting grief if she pretended that she did.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
