Post by Won Young Seo on Nov 4, 2015 18:51:15 GMT
I liked "Onnagata" but what struck me as the most interesting was in the last paragraph or so when Masayuma finally becomes disillusioned by Mangiku.
Masuyama was first struck by the cold yet somehow genuine femininity that Mangiku exuded despite his biological gender and was drawn to his natural grace and beauty and to Masuyama, Mangiku is like the perfect woman, even more womanly than actual females. He mentions that he expected to be disillusioned when he actually got to meet Mangiku as a person instead of an actor playing a role, but instead finds himself being drawn even more to the actor as Mangiku's innate femininity isn't something that he simply casts on and off to play a part, but rather something that is an actual part of Mangiku himself. Even seeing him half-naked and visually confirming that Mangiku is instead a man cannot shake this Mangiku off the pedestal Masuyama has put him on; if anything, it awes Masuyama even more. Mangiku continues to be Masuyama's ideal (we could even say that Mangiku is Masuyama's Madonna).
It's not until Mangiku falls in love with Kawasaki and invites him to dinner that Masuyama is finally disillusioned. Part of Mangiku's appeal was that he seemed unreachable and distant. He looked at Masuyama through mirrors and was always guarded by his disciples, like a princess or a nobleman's daughter. This distance was a big part of the reason why Masuyama felt so attracted to Mangiku; the distance also meant that Mangiku was pure. However, as soon as Mangiku stepped out of the theater next to Kawasaki, that purity and the sense of being unobtainable vanishes and Masuyama's affections for Mangiku freeze (though they don't cease or else he wouldn't feel jealousy that strongly).
Question: Do you think Masuyama wanted to actually be with Mangiku? Had Masuyama acted upon his affections, would Mangiku have accepted him?
Masuyama was first struck by the cold yet somehow genuine femininity that Mangiku exuded despite his biological gender and was drawn to his natural grace and beauty and to Masuyama, Mangiku is like the perfect woman, even more womanly than actual females. He mentions that he expected to be disillusioned when he actually got to meet Mangiku as a person instead of an actor playing a role, but instead finds himself being drawn even more to the actor as Mangiku's innate femininity isn't something that he simply casts on and off to play a part, but rather something that is an actual part of Mangiku himself. Even seeing him half-naked and visually confirming that Mangiku is instead a man cannot shake this Mangiku off the pedestal Masuyama has put him on; if anything, it awes Masuyama even more. Mangiku continues to be Masuyama's ideal (we could even say that Mangiku is Masuyama's Madonna).
It's not until Mangiku falls in love with Kawasaki and invites him to dinner that Masuyama is finally disillusioned. Part of Mangiku's appeal was that he seemed unreachable and distant. He looked at Masuyama through mirrors and was always guarded by his disciples, like a princess or a nobleman's daughter. This distance was a big part of the reason why Masuyama felt so attracted to Mangiku; the distance also meant that Mangiku was pure. However, as soon as Mangiku stepped out of the theater next to Kawasaki, that purity and the sense of being unobtainable vanishes and Masuyama's affections for Mangiku freeze (though they don't cease or else he wouldn't feel jealousy that strongly).
Question: Do you think Masuyama wanted to actually be with Mangiku? Had Masuyama acted upon his affections, would Mangiku have accepted him?