![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieThis post is about Yui and Tamahome. And how that whole relationship is a brilliant post-modern examination of the relationship between reader/viewer and the fictional characters they follow, and the dangers of getting too involved in the fiction. (Heeeee. Sounds so high-falutin’. You think someone will give me a grant?)
But seriously, the more I think about Yui’s feelings for Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi, the more I am in love with the situation, and what it has to say about things. Recap (for anyone reading this who has no interest in perusing the 700 FY posts I made in February): Miaka and Yui, best friends, ended up in a world inside a book where they both briefly met Tamahome, a book character. After which, within minutes of landing in the book world, Yui was ejected from the book while Miaka stayed and developed a relationship with Tamahome, while Yui kept reading about them in the book. Eventually, Yui got sucked back in and ended up in different part of the country. And she has feelings for Tamahome.
Yui ends up having Tamahome as a guest/prisoner (she is a Priestess for the bad guys who demand Tamahome in exchange for withdrawing from some villages) and she declares her love. And I find the whole relationship fascinating. Clearly, she is not truly in love with Tamahome. For one, she doesn’t know him: she met him for 5 minutes and the rest is her reading about him in a book. The reason she has fallen in love with him is because she was following his adventures in a book, which is just the relationship we (the viewers) have with his character. Her feelings for Tamahome aren’t much different from all the people on lj who post that they want Lee Adama’s babies or who seem to have appointed Veronica Mars their shagging representative and are upset she isn’t getting it on with Logan. How often have you read the book/seen a TV show and have ‘fallen’ for a character? I think it’s rather interesting that FY examines what happens when you come face to face with such attraction: it’s clearly not real. This whole thing loops back on the viewer, because (at least this) viewer has, after all, fallen for Tamahome too, in a way not too dissimilar to Yui. And this forms a lovely, post-modern Moebius strip.
Of course, in Yui’s case, the situation is strengthened/complicated by the fact that she was feeling Miaka’s emotions when she was reading the book, so in a way it’s Miaka’s love she is experiencing (of course, once again, this is a literal approach to what usually happens when you get involved in a book emotionally) and there is also the fact that she wants Tamahome because she wants to take him away from Miaka to punish Miaka for her ‘betrayal’ (significantly, once Tamahome manages to escape, she moves on to the next thing, but still with ‘I’ll get you Miaka’ goal in mind). And there is the issue of her rape trauma (as she believes she’s been raped) which makes her try to find worth in making Tamahome love her: after all, if he prefers her to the still ‘pure’ Miaka, that validates her.
Of course, all of this results in sound and fury signifying nothing, because Tamahome loves Miaka and rejects Yui. The way he deals with Yui is one of the main reasons I love him. He is surprisingly gentle and mature and full of grace in dealing with her, especially for a 17 year old boy (probably because his feelings are not engaged. Compare his graceless reaction to Miaka’s declaration of feelings for him earlier. Yes, he’s matured since then, but the main thing is his feeling nothing but compassion and liking for Yui versus the giddy mix of love and lust and friendship he feels for Miaka). It’s actually also interesting that he picks Miaka, because Miaka, unlike Yui, is not a reader who falls in love with a character. She has never read about him in a book. Her interactions have all been on a primary level, when they are both equals within the playing field of the book: both as characters (though she had an existence in the real world before she met him) . She is experiencing emotions herself, not reading about them and having them leach through. Even though she is aware of another reality existing outside the book, his reality is hers. Her feelings, whatever they are, as they progress from annoyance, to lust, to love (there is obviously a healthy dose of “ooooh, hottie” at least initially, as a foundation for her interest) are based on realities. She is annoyed at Tamahome because he is pissing her off at the moment. She lusts for him because she interacts with him and sees how broad his shoulders are or whatever floats her boat. She loves him as a result of her time with him. Her love is real.
And then of course, there is an extra layer that all of them are characters within the fictional world of Fushigi Yuugi, as after all Yui and Miaka’s ‘real’ world is the fictional world for us.
Yay for things that make me have intellectual fun while ogling bishounen (like Yui?).
I am also interested in the fact that Yui never realizes that Nakago has no interest in her welfare, while the whole affair with Tamahome makes it plain. He ‘obtains’ Tamahome for her because he wants to prevent the 7 seishi from meeting and calling Suzaku, and this way if he falls for Yui and turns voluntarily, great, but if not, he’s still separated from the rest, but when Tamahome tries to escape, Nakago whips him horrendously. Which should be a Yui wake-up call. If Nakago was interested at all in Yui getting a snuggle-bunny, he’d never do that, as any chance of Tamahome being ‘oh, being in Kutou is not so bad, I’ll settle for Yui’ if it ever existed, is definitely gone by that point. But clearly, Nakago’s goals don’t include Yui’s well-being but just the prevention of Suzaku being called (and since seducing Tamahome to the enemy didn’t work, he still has keeping him jailed or bewitching him as options and he prefers those anyway). There is also of course the fact that Nakago puts his own pleasures way above Yui’s, and breaking Tamahome ranks really high on the list of Nakago’s pleasures, because Tamahome doesn’t say ‘how high’ when Nakago says ‘jump.’ I am sure if Nakago had a Christmas list (and didn’t just get lumps of coal anyway), “a quiet week where I can break Tamahome in peace” would be somewhere on there.
And this was a complete digression from the original topic, but Nakago is a demanding bastard.
But seriously, the more I think about Yui’s feelings for Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi, the more I am in love with the situation, and what it has to say about things. Recap (for anyone reading this who has no interest in perusing the 700 FY posts I made in February): Miaka and Yui, best friends, ended up in a world inside a book where they both briefly met Tamahome, a book character. After which, within minutes of landing in the book world, Yui was ejected from the book while Miaka stayed and developed a relationship with Tamahome, while Yui kept reading about them in the book. Eventually, Yui got sucked back in and ended up in different part of the country. And she has feelings for Tamahome.
Yui ends up having Tamahome as a guest/prisoner (she is a Priestess for the bad guys who demand Tamahome in exchange for withdrawing from some villages) and she declares her love. And I find the whole relationship fascinating. Clearly, she is not truly in love with Tamahome. For one, she doesn’t know him: she met him for 5 minutes and the rest is her reading about him in a book. The reason she has fallen in love with him is because she was following his adventures in a book, which is just the relationship we (the viewers) have with his character. Her feelings for Tamahome aren’t much different from all the people on lj who post that they want Lee Adama’s babies or who seem to have appointed Veronica Mars their shagging representative and are upset she isn’t getting it on with Logan. How often have you read the book/seen a TV show and have ‘fallen’ for a character? I think it’s rather interesting that FY examines what happens when you come face to face with such attraction: it’s clearly not real. This whole thing loops back on the viewer, because (at least this) viewer has, after all, fallen for Tamahome too, in a way not too dissimilar to Yui. And this forms a lovely, post-modern Moebius strip.
Of course, in Yui’s case, the situation is strengthened/complicated by the fact that she was feeling Miaka’s emotions when she was reading the book, so in a way it’s Miaka’s love she is experiencing (of course, once again, this is a literal approach to what usually happens when you get involved in a book emotionally) and there is also the fact that she wants Tamahome because she wants to take him away from Miaka to punish Miaka for her ‘betrayal’ (significantly, once Tamahome manages to escape, she moves on to the next thing, but still with ‘I’ll get you Miaka’ goal in mind). And there is the issue of her rape trauma (as she believes she’s been raped) which makes her try to find worth in making Tamahome love her: after all, if he prefers her to the still ‘pure’ Miaka, that validates her.
Of course, all of this results in sound and fury signifying nothing, because Tamahome loves Miaka and rejects Yui. The way he deals with Yui is one of the main reasons I love him. He is surprisingly gentle and mature and full of grace in dealing with her, especially for a 17 year old boy (probably because his feelings are not engaged. Compare his graceless reaction to Miaka’s declaration of feelings for him earlier. Yes, he’s matured since then, but the main thing is his feeling nothing but compassion and liking for Yui versus the giddy mix of love and lust and friendship he feels for Miaka). It’s actually also interesting that he picks Miaka, because Miaka, unlike Yui, is not a reader who falls in love with a character. She has never read about him in a book. Her interactions have all been on a primary level, when they are both equals within the playing field of the book: both as characters (though she had an existence in the real world before she met him) . She is experiencing emotions herself, not reading about them and having them leach through. Even though she is aware of another reality existing outside the book, his reality is hers. Her feelings, whatever they are, as they progress from annoyance, to lust, to love (there is obviously a healthy dose of “ooooh, hottie” at least initially, as a foundation for her interest) are based on realities. She is annoyed at Tamahome because he is pissing her off at the moment. She lusts for him because she interacts with him and sees how broad his shoulders are or whatever floats her boat. She loves him as a result of her time with him. Her love is real.
And then of course, there is an extra layer that all of them are characters within the fictional world of Fushigi Yuugi, as after all Yui and Miaka’s ‘real’ world is the fictional world for us.
Yay for things that make me have intellectual fun while ogling bishounen (like Yui?).
I am also interested in the fact that Yui never realizes that Nakago has no interest in her welfare, while the whole affair with Tamahome makes it plain. He ‘obtains’ Tamahome for her because he wants to prevent the 7 seishi from meeting and calling Suzaku, and this way if he falls for Yui and turns voluntarily, great, but if not, he’s still separated from the rest, but when Tamahome tries to escape, Nakago whips him horrendously. Which should be a Yui wake-up call. If Nakago was interested at all in Yui getting a snuggle-bunny, he’d never do that, as any chance of Tamahome being ‘oh, being in Kutou is not so bad, I’ll settle for Yui’ if it ever existed, is definitely gone by that point. But clearly, Nakago’s goals don’t include Yui’s well-being but just the prevention of Suzaku being called (and since seducing Tamahome to the enemy didn’t work, he still has keeping him jailed or bewitching him as options and he prefers those anyway). There is also of course the fact that Nakago puts his own pleasures way above Yui’s, and breaking Tamahome ranks really high on the list of Nakago’s pleasures, because Tamahome doesn’t say ‘how high’ when Nakago says ‘jump.’ I am sure if Nakago had a Christmas list (and didn’t just get lumps of coal anyway), “a quiet week where I can break Tamahome in peace” would be somewhere on there.
And this was a complete digression from the original topic, but Nakago is a demanding bastard.
