The Waiting Years : An Uphill Battle Essay, Research Paper

An Uphill Battle

In The Waiting Years, Fumiko Encho gives the reader insight to the lives of women in a culture diverse from our own. Japanese women are dominated by their father, and eventually their husband or master. It is evident throughout the novel that these repressive relationships affect the women characters. Tomo and the concubines seem to be waiting for some change in their lives. Despite Tomo’s outward strength she yearns for a more fulfilling life.

Tomo is a strong presence in the Shirakawa household, yet she is not happy. She feels lonely, unappreciated, and unnoticed. On page 187 she reveals this by admitting, “the failure of the assembled family to turn on her a single glance made sensitive by love, though nothing new, gave her the same sense of isolation as the deaf feel in their silent world.” Tomo’s feeling of coldness and isolation grow throughout the novel. She is Yukitomo’s only true wife, yet she has no place in her husband’s physical affection once Suga is brought into their home. Even after many years of no physical intimacy Tomo is awaken by Ruriko’s shriek and is surprised by her repressed desire. “She felt a spasm of distaste to find herself still so deeply enmired in the swamps of physical desire that scenes of sexual passion came to trouble her even in her dreams”(165). Although the concubines evoke a feeling of jealousy in Tomo, she is never cruel or harsh to the women. In fact, she is caring and nurturing to Suga. Tomo feels guilty over the way Michimasa turned out because she gave birth to him when she was only fifteen and had relatives raised him. There is a sense of struggle between Tomo and Suga, and between Tomo and Yukitomo. Tomo’s mixed emotions and struggles make for a complex character seeking and waiting for something better.

The chapters in this novel focus on something general and grow more specific; also they often start in an elevated place. The novel begins in the summer and ends in the winter. This all seems to represent the cycle of highs and lows in life. Tomo’s struggle uphill on pages 188-191 may symbolize her uphill battle throughout life. Tomo is determined to keep her family respectable, honorable, and together. She reacts to and resolves any situation that may jeopardize this without any appreciation or recognition. Tomo grows tired and weary as she makes her way up the hill just as the constant supervision of her family must exhaust her. On the way, Tomo senses the happiness and love in the simple, modest homes. She is filled with despair and realizes, “everything that she had suffered for, worked for, and won within the restricted sphere of a life whose key she had for decades entrusted to her wayward husband Yukitomo lay within the confines of that unfeeling, hard, and unassailable fortress summed up by the one word ‘family’”(189-90). She prides herself on holding her own in her life, yet she knows, “all the strength of her life had gone into doing just that”(190).

Tomo’s home is at the top of the hill and should be her sanctuary. It should be her relief from struggle. When she makes it home she is concerned Yukitomo will find her weak and defeated. This is related to Tomo’s unwillingness to see a doctor. She wants to feel in control of her life and stronger than Yukitomo. By refusing medical care and waiting, Tomo hoped to outlive her husband. “Her life must triumph over Yukitomo”(186). Tomo finds her condition critical and is bitter, “he got the better of me after all”(186). Her struggle is over. She has reached the top of her hill. The reader may believe that all her struggle and waiting was useless until the Tomo utters her last words. She sends Yukitomo a message, “Tell him that all he need do is take my body out to sea at Shinagwa and dump it in the water”(202). The message was delivered. “The shock was enough to split his arrogant ego in two”(203).

Tomo’s life could be defined as an uphill struggle to protect her family from dishonor and destruction. By making this her priority she repressed her own desires deciding instead to wait for her reward. After years of suffering she came to believe her reward would come after her death. If revenge is a reward, she was not mistaken.

Enchi, Fumiko. The Waiting Years.Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1980.