Post by Pedro J. Paez on Nov 6, 2015 2:18:43 GMT
Izu Dancer is a tale of a lone 19 years old male traveler who happen to one day catch sight of a little dancer that caught his attention and as he says, "I had caught the flavor of travel" (130). This story centers on his involvement with a husband in his mid twenties, his wife, younger sister (little dancer) and their maid servant. During the beginning he hopes for the little dancer to stay with him for the night perhaps he may had been smitten or just curious to see her dance in front of him. He later finds out when he sees the little dancer naked without a towel to cover her feminine parts he realizes that it was a body of a child. On page 135 he says "I had made an extraordinary mistake indeed." There were one or two moments which the narrator describes the little dancer body and hair feature close to the male traveler and she also flushed embarrassing in pure innocence for a child. I interpret this sort of behavior as a possible sign of intimacy however at the same time their relationship reminds me of a older brother and younger sister. At the end during his departure from the little dancer she didn't give him a proper farewell I assume she felt sad and didn't know how to express her inner feelings. When the male traveler boards the lighter he weeps because he felt a deep sadness, the sort of the sadness you usually feel when you say goodbye to the people you care about and won't see for a long time if not forever. The theme of this short story is one of youth, romance, teen angst, and happiness.
An onnagata as explained in this sort story is a special talent to bring forth a moment of character illusion that onnagata are able to express. In this case it is the ability to show feminist quality in speech and body movements. The child here symbolizes the joining of how actors behave on stage and real life. It is extraordinary difficult to accomplish.
Discussion Question: How would you describe the relationship between the male traveler and the little dancer? And why does he shed tears even though he only stayed with them for a few days? What are your thoughts on Kabuki male actors?
An onnagata as explained in this sort story is a special talent to bring forth a moment of character illusion that onnagata are able to express. In this case it is the ability to show feminist quality in speech and body movements. The child here symbolizes the joining of how actors behave on stage and real life. It is extraordinary difficult to accomplish.
Discussion Question: How would you describe the relationship between the male traveler and the little dancer? And why does he shed tears even though he only stayed with them for a few days? What are your thoughts on Kabuki male actors?