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.