Even the mallow,
that turns of its own accord
toward the light—does it
ever melt away the frost
that has settled in the morning?
- Meaning
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Even the mallow, which turns of its own accord toward the light, does not melt away the frost that has settled in the morning.
- Commentary
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Part One: Fujibakama
Of all the letters that came, Tamakazura answered only the Prince of War, and then—whatever she may have been thinking—with no more than a line or two. This is the poem. The Prince found it a rare thing indeed; and since she let it be seen that she understood what he felt, then, slight as it was, he was very glad. So it went: for no great reason, there was a great deal of complaint from a great many people about her going to court. And how a woman should conduct herself, the narrator ends, was a matter on which the two Ministers agreed she should be the model.
"Aoi" is the mallow that turns toward the sun—the figure of one who goes willingly to the Emperor. "The light" is his own word for the Emperor, taken over unchanged; "the frost of the morning" is likewise his word for himself. "Does it melt it away?" is rhetorical: no, it does not. Even the flower that turns to the sun of itself does not destroy the frost; and she does not go willingly at all—so how should she forget him? Taking up every word of his poem and reversing its whole sense by the addition of a single flower is deftly done; and while she lets him know that she understands, she promises nothing whatever. The judgment of a woman courted by many and never once ill spoken of is all here, in these few lines.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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