Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 爛 |
|---|---|
| Author | 徳田 秋声 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In "Decay," Omasu, fresh from the confining world of pleasure quarters, yearns for a stable life with the charismatic businessman Asai. But her newfound freedom is quickly tainted by a devastating discovery: Asai is secretly married and entangled with a string of other women. Thrust into a precarious existence, Omasu must cunningly navigate a treacherous landscape of societal judgment, a jealous legal wife, and the seductive innocence of a young relative, Oima, who threatens to usurp her place. As she witnesses the slow, agonizing decline of the woman Asai discarded, Omasu battles her own escalating fears of abandonment and the insidious decay of her own spirit and body. Can she break free from the relentless cycle of male infidelity and women's sacrifice, or is her destiny merely a tragic echo of those who came before? |
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