Morrison

Study Guide for Mori gais The Dancing Girl (Maihime; 1890)

*To purchase Richard Bowrings English translation, click here.

*To read the original, click here.
Mori gai (1862-1922): Born in Shimane-ken to family of physicians to daimy;
received elite education in neo-Confucian classics. In 1872, he moved in with Nishi
Amane, began studying German. Graduates from Tokyo Imperial University medical
school, becomes a doctor at 19; reads late-Edo gesaku fiction; sent by army to study in
Germany from 1884-1888; encounters European literature; publishes Shigarami sshi,
18891894 and his own book of poetry (Omokage, 1889) in anti-realist, German
Romantic vein (gai vs. Tsubouchi); institutes modern literary criticism in Japan based
on the aesthetic theories of Karl von Hartmann. In 1890, publishes Maihime. His own
exile to Kyushu; appointed surgeon general in 1907; edits Mezamashi gusa, 18921909
while serving in army as surgeon; translates works of Goethe, Schiller, Ibsen, Hans
Christian Andersen, and Hauptmann. From 19121916: historical stories (rekishi
monogatari; e.g. Sansh dayu, Takasebune). From 1916-death: shiden (literary
biographies; e.g. Shibue Chsai). His literary style is often characterized as
Apollonian, rational, stoic, manly, understated.
1. Discuss the narrative structure. Where (temporally/spatially) is the narrating I?
Why/what is he writing? Is he an example of a self-conscious narrator?
2. Describe the narrator (i.e. his position, background, education, motivations/desires,
priorities, concerns/struggles, talents, interests, behavior, personality, etc.).
3. What examples of foreshadowing can you find in the work? (Hint: unwritten
notebooks; hidden remorse; etc.).
4. Make a list of all the cultural/historical references that appear.
5. How does ta Toyotar describe the city scene on his first day in Berlin? Why does
he try to keep himself from being moved by the various sights?
1

First published as Maihime () in the journal Kokumin no tomo () in

January 1890.

6. Describe the real self that ta feels emerging inside of him. How is this real self
different from his former assumed self? Does this true nature prove to be an
illusion?
7. How is ta regarded/treated by his Japanese peers?
8. Describe tas view of/relations with women prior to his encounter with Elise.
9. Describe Elise (i.e. her circumstances/background/predicament/behavior/etc.). In
what state is she when ta discovers her? How does she react to him? Why does the
narrator describe dancing as a disreputable trade?
10. Do you perceive any hints of anti-Japanese/anti-Asian racism in the work? Explain.
11. At one point the narrator asks himself: Did she [Elise] know the effect her eyes had
on me, or was it unintentional? What is the answer to this question? In other words, to
what extent is Elises innocence/naivety feigned/strategic?
12. Why is tas position terminated? What is the content of the two letters he receives?
13. Describe the evolving stages of ta and Elises relationship.
14. How does tas friend Aizawa Kenkichi help him?
15. Describe ta and Elises life when they are living together. How does ta change
during this period? What new interests/skills does he acquire?
16. How does tas luck change beginning in the winter of 1888? What are the sources
of his anxiety during this period? What advice does he receive from Aizawa Kenkichi
after confiding in him? How does ta take this advice?
17. Describe tas trip to Russia. Describe the nature of the letters he receives from
Elise while in Russia.
18. Discuss the meaning/significance of the following sentence: With Aizawas help

she had not wanted for daily necessities, it was true, but this same benefactor had had
spiritually killed her. (
)
19. Describe Elises metamorphosis. What causes it? Is it believable under such
circumstances? What are the ur-texts for this scene? Who are Elises literary models?
What was the something she was looking for?
20. Discuss the ethical problems/implications of the work. How grave was tas
crime? Is tas behavior/decision/course of action ethically defensible? Was there
another more ethical option? If so, what?
21. Discuss the significance of the famous last sentence: Friends like Aizawa Kenkichi
are rare indeed, and yet to this very day there remains a part of me that curses him.
(
)
Further Discussion
1. What is the main conflict of the story? Is this a moral story about the tension between
giri and ninj, as some critics have described it?
2. Why did gai use the pseudo-classical style (gikobun/gabun) rather than the modern
colloquial style (genbun itchi) to write this story?
3. Why has the work been read as an autobiography/roman clef in Japan? What are the
advantages/disadvantages of reading the work as autobiography/roman clef?
4. Discuss the theme/representation of interracial sex in the work. How is this story a
reversal of Loti/Belasco/Long/Puccinis Madama Butterfly (1887/1898/1900/1904)
story?
5. Is the work a Bildungsroman? Explain.