Road Back (Resurrection, Return with the Elixir)

I will do my last post on Memoirs of a Geisha as well.

Here's my question for the last time:

How does this stage affect the main character positively and negatively? Why is it necessary for the character's journey to go anywhere?

Sayuri's road back to the ordinary world is driven by the fact that the chairman does become her danna. Sayuri's ordinary world was abolished years ago though, so really, Sayuri isn't returning to one, but creating one for herself. Sayuri's new ordinary world revolves around her spending as much of her time with the chairman as possible and being generally, very blissful.

However, Sayuri's resurrection abolishes her new ordinary world as well. As explained in a previous blog, Sayuri leaves Gion to go to New York because of tension with regards to the chairman's son becoming his successor. This stage verifies that Sayuri has changed from her experiences. This is because all her life, Sayuri has dreamed about being with the chairman, and when she eventually ends up with him, she gives him up without reluctance.

As for her return with the elixir, Sayuri's prizes to share with others are the experiences and wisdom she acquires from being a geisha. In the prologue of the novel, the narrator explains that Sayuri has kindly allowed him to interview her for a book he plans to write. Since her stories would become published in this book, Sayuri's experiences would become known nationally at least, if not globally. In this way, Sayuri shares her wisdom with several.

This stage affects Sayuri positively because she gets a chance to have an ordinary world she dreamed about but never had. Even when this new world doesn't seem fitting for her, Sayuri is given the chance to start completely fresh, which she takes when she decides to move to New York. The negative affects this stage has on Sayuri are that she may never feel stable, when so many considerable alterations have been made on her life through out it. At the end of the novel, Sayuri seems decently satisfied with the way her life ends up. However, as a reader, I was left with the feeling that her life could be better, and was more or less only adequate the way it was.

This stage was necessary for Sayuri's journey to go anywhere because it basically wrapped up her journey. By the end of the novel, Sayuri is an old woman, living out her days quietly after an overall hectic life. But to acquire this quiet life, Sayuri had to make many life-changing decisions to reach her goal, take the road back, and deal with the final conflicts in her resurrection. As for Sayuri's return with the elixir, that was her shared reward for overcoming adversity: learning from her experiences and letting others learn by them.

The purpose of Sayuri' journey was for her to learn from her mistakes and hardships like any ordinary human being, and to share those experiences with others so that they would not make the same mistakes. Inevitably those "others" would and will make mistakes too, but at least they avoided making some mistakes.

In conclusion, our existence itself is built on tries and failure, but it's all of those failures which eventually result in our society succeeding; and evolving in several aspects of life.

The Reward

In this blog entry, I will be switching back to Memoirs of a Geisha to relate this stage.

Once again, here is my opening question:

How does this stage affect the main character positively and negatively? Why is it necessary for the character's journey to go anywhere?

Sayuri's reward for enduring the hardships of being a geisha in her time is becoming the geisha of the chairman, a man she has had a crush on for a good portion of her life. Sayuri has survived the wrath of Hatsumomo, by running her out of Gion as well as Pumpkin, who tried to zero Sayuri's chances of being with the chairman. Sayuri also had challenges with being a geisha because part of her career was during World War II. Sayuri actually had to quit her job as a geisha momentarily because Gion was closed during part of that period.

The biggest fear Sayuri overcomes is becoming the geisha of a friend of the chairman's, Nobu. This was a fear for her because she only saw Nobu as a friend, and if he were to become her danna, the chairman would never be able to. This is because there is an unwritten rule that a man does not become the danna of a geisha whom his friend was previously the danna of. However, Sayuri finds her way around it, although not in the most respectful way to do so. Sayuri almost doesn't succeed because of Pumpkin, but somehow, it all turns out for her.

This stage affects Sayuri positively because she finally has reached her long life goal of being with the chairman, but there is also a negative side to it. Although she has dreamt about being with the chairman for a long time, issues get in the way of them being together, and being with the chairman isn't as dreamy as Sayuri thought it would be. Sayuri ends up moving to New York so that the chairman's son has a chance at becoming the head of a company without there being suspicions that he is their son*.

* Geisha often would become pregnant with their danna and it was ultimately his choice on whether the geisha would get an abortion or not. Nevertheless, if the baby was kept, they would still be considered a bastard. Although sometimes a geisha's son would become the successor to their father, it was often looked down upon. This is because many believed the son of the man and his wife should be the successor, not the son of the man and his geisha.

This stage is necessary for Sayuri's journey to proceed anywhere because it taught her a few lessons:hard work can pay off, there is great deal of luck in people's lives, and that people aren't as perfect as they may appear. Sayuri orginally became motivated to become a geisha so that the chairman could become her danna someday, and she continually worked hard to be with him throughout her career. Sayuri was also extremely lucky to even become a geisha because of the time she tried to runaway, which only showed the mother of her okiya that she was unreliable and probably not the best investment. Lastly, although Sayuri was quite happy when the chairman finally became her danna, they didn't spend as much time with each other as they would have liked, and the chairman was often stressed about his company.

So, this stage had positive and negative affects on Sayuri, but taught her many lessons in the long run. The stage was necessary for her journey to go anywhere because of the experiences and wisdom she acquired from it.

The Ordeal

I shall relate this stage of the journey to the novel The Time Traveler's Wife.

Here's my original question restated:

How does this stage affect the main character positively and negatively? Why is it necessary for the character's journey to go anywhere?

Henry DeTamble, being the time traveler, has gone forward in time and has seen himself killed. As the date of his death draws nearer, Henry realizes that he has to face his wife, Clare and tell her about it. This is clearly the central "life-or-death-predicament" since it is taken so literally in this case. Henry's biggest fear isn't death itself though, it's telling Clare. Henry faces death by showing Clare love and compassion, as he always has and finally admitting to her that he is going to die soon. Clare, as suspected and as is uncontrollable, is extremely upset, but finds ways of momentarily coping.

In this novel there are truthfully two main characters: Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire, but their answers to my question would be very similar. So, I will answer the question for Henry:

This stage affects Henry negatively because he's going to die, leaving his wife and child behind. I'm finding it rather difficult to figure out how this stage is affecting him positively. Dying: does it affect anyone positively? Well, if you’re in a lot of pain and need to be put out of your misery then I suppose yes. However, Henry is not in seething pain.

So, the only positive thing about death I can think of is that nothing lasts forever. This statement on its own may seem negative but how can you treasure life and the people around you if you have them for eternity? There will be some point in time that you’ll take them for granted, and they won’t seem as wonderful as they are; they won’t be as wonderful as they are. Even when we don’t have eternity with people we take them for granted. So, although Henry has died, he and Clare have had the remarkable privilege of knowing each other throughout the different stages of their lives. From the time Clare was six, to the time she was eighty-something.

Henry’s death was necessary for the journey to go anywhere because the journey ends with wisdom and a moral:

We all have our stresses with events and people in our lives all the way through. But sometimes we have to sit back and see all of the positive things that make it tolerable. Those are the things that keep us living, but we only seem to get them in moderation. That is because if there weren’t any negative things in our lives we couldn’t possibly know what true happiness was, or at least it wouldn’t feel the same. This relates back to taking things for granted.

So, in conclusion, the two things we need to truly appreciate happiness are having the opposite (stress, upsets) so that we can compare, and mortality. The opposite, so that we can appreciate how great happiness is in comparison, and mortality so that we don’t take happiness for granted. This still may not seem so swell, but hey, that’s life! So, considering this is how life is, then Henry’s death had a positive affect on him, like everyone else’s death has on themselves.

Tests, Enemies, and Allies

Since I am currently reading a non-fiction book, I will continue relating my posts to the last novel I read "Memoirs of a Geisha".

So, the question I have come up with to begin each of my last 4 entries is:

How does this stage affect the main character positively and negatively? Why is it necessary for the character's journey to go anywhere?

Tests, enemies, and allies definitely play significant roles in Sayuri's journey, both good and bad.

Without being tested by her okiya, Sayuri would not have had a chance to become a geisha, since her future in that field all relied upon the mother of her okiya allowing her to become one.

Allies Sayuri met were people such as the mother of her okiya, her geisha sister Mameha, and the chairman. The mother of the okiya aided Sayuri by giving her a chance to follow the path she desired, Mameha gave Sayuri advice on how to be a great geisha, and the chairman aided Sayuri with the expenses of her training.

However, Sayuri certainly had her enemies as well: Hatsumomo, another geisha in her okiya, and later in the game, Pumpkin, who also became a geisha in Sayuri's okiya. Hatsumomo had felt threatened by Sayuri when she first came to the okiya, and tried very hard to sabotage Sayuri's career. With the help of Mameha, Sayuri was eventually able to run Hatsumomo out of Gion so that she could be tortured no longer by her. As for Pumpkin, she was once a very close friend of Sayuri's until Sayuri stole her chance of being the daughter of the okiya. Pumpkin later seeked vengeance and lessened Sayuri's chances of having the chairman as her danna*.

The tests Sayuri faced were all brought on by her various enemies on different levels. From the time Sayuri and her sister were originally taken from their village, to Hatsumomo weakening Sayuri's chances of becoming a geisha, to Pumpkin and Nobu each separately distancing Sayuri's chances of being with the chairman.

Now, I say enemies of different levels because enemies such as Hatsumomo and Pumpkin intentionally tried to harm Sayuri, while enemies such as Nobu and Sayuri's kidnapper did not intentionally do so. However, the latter enemies' actions that impacted Sayuri negatively were done for self-centered reasons. Nobu wanted to be Sayuri's danna and didn't know of her affections for the chairman, while Sayuri's kidnapper believed he was giving her a better life in Gion while making a bit of money for himself.

These characters and events were necessary for Sayuri's journey to proceed because they led her to the district of Gion, aided her in becoming a notable geisha, taught her who to trust, and eventually, led her to being with the chairman as she desired.

Sayuri's tests were brought on by her enemies, she passed these tests with the guidance of her allies and a bit of luck, and her journey ended in the special world she had strived to acquire. Yet Sayuri did not reached her special world without hardships that taught her life lessons.

"Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be."
— Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha.




* Danna - Typically a wealthy man, sometimes married, who has the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other costs. This sometimes occurs today as well, but very rarely.

Refusal of the Call

The event that represents refusal of Sayuri's call to adventure in Memoirs of a Geisha is when she tries to escape the okiya when she is little. The reason this event is so significant is because it creates tension in the story's plot. Sayuri tries to escape so that she can go back home with her sister to their village of Yoroido. However, Sayuri is caught in the act and ends up with a few minor injuries. Sayuri's minor injuries are examined by a doctor, which adds more to Sayuri's debt to the okiya. As well, since Sayuri tried to escape the okiya, she was considered unreliable and not worth the risk to invest in as a geisha.

These events almost completely ruin Sayuri's chances of becoming a geisha. This is not only for the fact that the mother of Sayuri's okiya doesn't want to invest money for her but also because Sayuri's debt grows and grows. However, things end up turning around for Sayuri when a highly revered geisha offers to be Sayuri's sister geisha. The mother of Sayuri's okiya takes some time to decide whether to allow Sayuri a chance to become a geisha. In the end, she decides in favour of it.

"I should explain just what Mameha meant by 'older sister', even though at the time, I hardly knew much about it myself. By the time a girl is finally ready to make her debut as an apprentice, she needs to have established a relationship with a more experienced geisha. -- She {the older sister} does a great deal more than just making sure her younger sister learns the proper way to blend embarrassment-- She must also make sure her younger sister attracts the notice of people she'll need to know." - (Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha, pg.128-129).

You can also notice an apparent contrast in Sayuri's character once she has become a geisha. Sayuri's initial refusal of her call is what makes her later change of heart so shocking: she desires more than anything to become a geisha and to stay in the district of Gion. Although Sayuri does become a geisha as she wished, she ends up having to leave the district of Gion for five years during World War II, and on her return, notices much has changed in her "new world". It seems as though Sayuri's original "new world" is becoming another "normal world" that she will have to confront very soon. We all change through out our lives so it only makes sense that our ordinary worlds change and that we are always overcoming them.

Which leaves the question:Will Sayuri refuse the call to her new special world?

Crossing the Threshold

The event that I think best represents the character Sayuri's call to adventure is when she begins to be auctioned. (Before I jump into this, I want it to be known that I don't agree with the way of the geisha however, this would be considered crossing the threshold from a geisha's point of view).

Hatsumomo, another geisha in Sayuri's okiya, continually tries to ruin Sayuri's career as a geisha. One thing Hatsumomo does to bring Sayuri down to her ordinary world is by building up Sayuri's debt to the okiya. This debt includes feeding costs, doctor appointments, etc. Now that Sayuri has been auctioned off, for a large sum of money, she has more than enough to pay back her debts. Now, Sayuri has also become the daughter of her okiya, taking the chance away for Pumpkin, Hatsumomo's sister geisha. Since Sayuri is now the daughter of her okiya, Hatsumomo cannot treat her so roughly as before and must show Sayuri respect. Sayuri is also now a full-fledged geisha, and a very famous, and popular one. Sayuri has reached her new special world successfully.

As of yet, I do not know what happens when Sayuri crosses this new, special world. However, it has been mentioned in the text that she may soon have a danna. A danna is someone a geisha more or less becomes the mistress of, and she is paid very well by them and usually receives many gifts from them.

Predictions I can make as to the success of Sayuri as she embarks on her journey are that she will continue to be a successful geisha for a long while, and will not fade into obscurity like some geisha. Sayuri may also change her mind about the ways of the geisha and may think it unjust for her to stay in the field. I know that later on she will move to New York but as of yet I don't know whether she went there to flee her life as a geisha or not. However, I think it is very likely Sayuri went there for sanctuary, I just don't know what she needed sanctuary from.

Limiting Beliefs

The main character from Memoirs of a Geisha is Chiyo, now known as Sayuri, her geisha name; she has just become an apprentice geisha.

The main conflict holding "Sayuri" back from her dream to become a successful geisha is Hatsumomo. Hatsumomo,a full-fledged geisha that lives in the same okiya as Sayuri, is extremely jealous of Sayuri's beauty and feels very threatened by her. So, Hatsumomo has decided to try her hardest to ruin Sayuri's chances at becoming a great geisha, since her potential seems so very high.

This has been limiting Sayuri from going to a lot of parties with her sister geisha, Mameha. A sister geisha's job is to help bring an apprentice geisha out of obsurity so that they, like their sister geisha, will become very successful. In return, the sister geisha will get a portion of the apprentice's earnings once they're a full-fledged geisha like herself. However, it has been very tricky for Mameha to introduce Sayuri to all the great tea houses of Gion because she continues to encounter Hatsumomo every time Sayuri accompanies her. Hatsumomo has bribed servants from various tea houses so that they will tell her when and where Sayuri will be. With this information, Hatsumomo always arrives shortly after Sayuri where ever she goes, and tries her hardest to embarrass her by making up horrid stories about her and telling them to the gentlemen visiting the tea houses.

For a while, Mameha tells Sayuri that she cannot join her on her excursions to the tea houses. Sayuri can't enter another tea house until Mameha comes up with a plan to rid them of Hatsumomo. Finally though, Mameha comes up with any idea, inspired by a sumo wrestler match the two of them watch. Mameha won't tell Sayuri what it is though, for she is worried that her idea could easily leak, and be sent straight to Hatsumomo.

If I were able to talk to Sayuri, the advice that I'd give her would be to not pay attention to Hatsumomo, and realize why she is acting the way she is. I'd tell Sayuri to look at the optimistic side of things; she has been to several tea houses and because all over her visits have been brief, this is probably getting the men curious about her. Currently, Sayuri certainly isn't sinking in to obsurity. All that Sayuri can do for the time being is wait for Mameha's instructions and follow them. Mameha has been a geisha for a long time, and has had to deal with Hatsumomo for a longer time as well. If anyone can out smart Hatsumomo it's probably Mameha.

Sayuri's ordinary world is the okiya, the threshold she will have to cross is out smarting Hatsumomo, which leaves her new adventure to be becoming a full-fledged geisha.