Power In Kitsune's Reeling For The Empire

There are many examples of different kinds of power in Reeling for The Empire. The Recruitment Agent is an individual in the story who has a previously established power, while the factory workers develop their own power through rebellion later on. The goals of the Agent and the girls are completely different; one seeking capital gain while the other seeks true freedom and the power that comes with it. However, both sides use power as a means to achieve what they strive for.

With the use of flowery language the Agent glorifies and propagates the factory work in order to convince the family that they should feel honored that he has decided to recruit their daughter; “We are recruiting only the most skillful and loyal mill workers, [...] not

just peasant girls, [...] but the well-bred daughters of noblemen” (Karen Russell, 27). Working in the silk-reeling factory is described to the families receiving the pitch as “a sacred vocation” that will “increase production” and “encourage industry” for the country (27). The Agent insists that city-born governors beg him to train their daughters on the silk-reeling machines, indicating that the position he is offering is valuable and should not be passed-up (27). The wording of the pitch alone was propaganda, and therefore form of power that influenced opinion (Bertrand Russell, 19). However, the use of hand-picked words and phrases alone was not enough to ensure complete cooperation.
In addition to the deliberately flattering language, the second key aspect of this type of negotiative power is compensatory. As well as being encouraged about the prestigiousness of the factory and its productions, the fathers and guardians of the girls were promised a “five-yen advance for one year of [their] lives” upon signing over their daughters (Karen Russell, 26). John Galbraith defines compensatory power as something that “wins submission by the offer of affirmative reward” (Galbraith, 5). In this case, although not always, that reward is “pecuniary reward--the payment of money for [...] submission to the economic or personal purposes of others” (5). This transaction perfectly embodies the element of pecuniary reward, and I speculate it as being a precaution against conflict. Besides a rather vague “The fathers and guardians nearly always sign the contract”, it is never directly stated if the Agent has ever used force to procure his factory workers (27).
Yet another example of compensatory power emerges through the giving and withholding of food. Once the girls are within the mill, they become forced to hand over a sufficient amount of high quality silk in order to receive food and subsequently stay alive. Their “zookeeper” is careful to provide them with just enough food to live on, although they remain perpetually hungry. This is undoubtedly a deliberate tactic in the vast repertoire of things used to continuously and effectively perpetuate the need for the cycle to continue.
Corresponding to this point, the workers are dependant upon the machine to empty them of their silk. If they refuse to reel, silk will continue to grow exponentially within them, causing them to suffer greatly and eventually die. Even going until the natural end of a work day, after each girl has been completely emptied of her silk, to the next is almost too much to bear. The threat of the discomfort that would come from refusing to reel is condign power; meaning a form of power that “wins submission by the ability to impose an alternative [...] that is sufficiently unpleasant or painful so that [the] preferences [of those being acted upon] are abandoned” (Galbraith, 3). In addition to the natural desire to avoid pain and death, “the relief of being rid of [the silk was] indescribable”, and was a powerful incentive in and of itself to continue to reel.
I would also argue that, even after the initial and direct naked power of the Agent forcing the girls to drink the tea, their bodies continue to be under his physical control (Karen Russell, 36). It is said by Kitsune that “the thread itself is [their] boss”, indicating that the girls are literally powerless to what the Agent initiated to happen within their bodies (Karen Russell, 33).
Although Kitsune’s story about her initiation differs drastically from that of her fellow workers’, the element of coercion is still prominent.

We know very little about the Agent besides what he does, but it is possible that he was specifically chosen to do the recruiting because of his appearance and charisma. Upon her first encounter with him, Kitsune can hardly focus on anything else besides his looks, and this fact does not go unnoticed by the Agent. He takes advantage of her star-struck state, initiating unnecessary and suggestive physical contact such as “grabbing at [her] waist”, and “[letting] his fingers brush softly against [her] knuckles as he drew out the contract” (Karen Russell, 35). Although there is no specific indication of the age of the Agent or Kitsune, one can gather from the ages of some of the other girls (Tooka whom is twelve and Etsuyo who is nineteen) that at least some of them are quite young, or were young at the time of their capture. Chances are, with the times being what they were, the Agent is older than them, perhaps even significantly so. Therefore I conclude that the agent was using his position of power as an adult and as a man--both of which are aspects of identity that did and still do significantly impact one's life, opportunities and privilege--to predatorily manipulate Kitsune, as well as the other

girls.
Even if one leaves out the factor of age in considering the dynamics of their interaction, it is undeniable that Kitsune feels honored and enamored with the Agent’s attention because he is a man. At the time, girls were viewed as a burden with the purpose of serving men and bearing many sons. It is even said within the text that “[their] dreams anticipated [the Agent’s] promises”, revealing the predisposed nature of the woman-complying-with-man’s-wishes power dynamic (Karen Russell, 25). As you can imagine, male attention was something that women strove for, and when it was given they felt good about themselves. The dehumanization that comes with being reduced to an object whose purpose is to please men is a power dynamic that continues to exist to this day.
Although Kitsune and the other girls were most likely unaware of it, it is clear to me that they were all subject to a situation in which they were powerless to make their own decision.

As the story states, most of the girls had no say in whether or not they became the Agent’s property, and certainly no say in whether or not they consumed the tea. Kitsune’s story differs slightly in the sense that she felt the illusion of free will, when in reality she failed to recognize the invisible walls that barred her decisionmaking. She felt obligated to sign the contract with the Agent in order to help pay off her father’s debts because that was her duty as a daughter and as a woman (35). She also felt obligated to drink the tea because she thought it was a test that the standing of her future career depended on, although it is later revealed that she would have been forced to do so anyway (Karen Russell, 36-37). Kitsune describes feeling uneasy before the tea ceremony, literally thinking to herself “something is wrong” (Karen Russell, 35). Despite her intuition, she continues to make the choices that will satisfy the men in her life and subsequently cost her

dearly.
It is only after Kitsune is nearly pulled into the machine while reeling does she begin to change. This change is what initiates Dai’s passive rebellion, which in turn jump starts Kitsune’s. Although Dai’s refusal to reel and eat did not attract any support, her choice to exhibit this defiance could be considered the power of self control, even if it ultimately resulted in her demise. Kitsune’s rebellion method achieved more due to the fact that she used the power systems already put in place to her advantage. This can be taken quite literally considering how they dismantle and reassemble the machine to work the way they want it to (Karen Russell, 49). The other girls in the factory were attracted to what Kitsune was doing because it promised change, while Dai’s did not. Civil disobedience can be powerful, however it is not always the most effective counterforce when pitted against an established oppressive system. As Kitsune and the other silk reelers demonstrate, revolutionary power “depends upon a large group united by a new creed”; although they were by no means an army, their unanimous goal of freedom from the Nowhere Mill is what manifested their determination.