Golden also has lived and worked in Japan, which permits him to construct an influential network that contributed to his debut novel: "Memoirs of a Geisha" (1997). He obtained his Master's degree in Japanese history in 1980 from Columbia University and in English from Boston University in 1988. Therefore, in this article, I argue that the reinforcement of fetishist imaginaries around geishas is dangerous as it perpetuates one-sided narratives, reconstructing an oriental figure in order to suit Western expectations and ideals.Īrthur Golden is an American writer born in 1956, graduated from Art History (with specialization in Japanese art) at Harvard University in 1978. Finally, I intertwine the authors' version and their posture, understanding the impacts that both narratives have on the idea of geishas. Then, relying on the concept of posture presented by Jérôme Meizoz (2010), and the concepts of autobiography and novel presented by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson (2001), I define and delimit the authorial postures of Arthur Golden and Mineko Iwasaki based only on the textual elements presented in their books. Through a narrative analysis of "Memoirs of a Geisha" (1997) and "Geisha, a Life" (2002), I describe the main features of the two versions of geisha. While Golden casts them as prostitutes, Iwasaki reveals them as artists. ![]() The conflict between them is clear: their narratives have totally different concepts about geishas. Another renowned work is Mineko Iwasaki's "Geisha, a Life" (2002), an autobiography of the most famous geisha of the 1960s and 1970s. Among them, the American Arthur Golden stood out with his debut novel and bestseller "Memoirs of a Geisha" (1997), a fictional biography that was very popular with foreign audiences and a failure with the Japanese one. Some authors have published books exploring the mysteries of the geishas' world. ![]() However, their image is still very distorted due to the closed and traditional system, within its own rules and conditions. ![]() Geishas are embodiments of a Japanese beauty aesthetic.
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