Some Prefer Nettles Study Questions & Response Paper Assignment

How does Tade kū mushi compare & contrast with the other literary works/lectures we have read and discussed so far in the course?

What is the social, political, historical and international context at the time Tanizaki wrote and published this novel (1929)?

What is the narrative structure of the work in terms of time, place, relationship and travel/movement?

What is the role and significance of the puppet theater and puppet plays to the novel and its central thematic/ideological concerns?

What different traditional gender roles are there for women in the novel and what are their ideological implications?

Question for written response:

What cultural, relational, spiritual and political argument is Tanizaki making through his depiction of Kaname’s fraught marital relationship with Misako and his increasing interest in his father-in-law’s way of life in general, and Ohisa/Ohisa-type women in particular?