Relationships In 'Punishment And The 13th Knight'

RELATIONSHIP

What is a relationship? It’s a connection between two people, it’s how two things can come together or unite. It’s how two things or people can be connected. If this is the case and the unity of two things defines a relationship then how the stories of “Punishment” and “The Thirteenth Knight” may just redefine it. Bother of these stores are fantastic and have multiple similarities in their pages even though they are two different literary pieces. One point I would like to get out of the way is the fact that both stores put a lot of focus on the simple fact that the decisions and significance of women in both cases have no value. In the Story “Punishment” is about two brothers the elder brother in a fit of anger kills his wife. The younger of the two brothers asks his wife to take the blame for the elder brother killing his wife. In a very similar situation in another literary piece is The Thirteenth Knight” follows a young women Oseki Harada a young women who is faced with the problem of being married to an abusive husband. She heads to her parents house one night to discuss with her mother and father what was weighing on her mind. She said, "I came here tonight vowing never to return to Isamu. He knows nothing about it. When I put Tarō to bed, I knew I would never see him again. He won't let anyone else take care of him, but I tricked him. I waited for him to fall asleep, and then, as he dreamt, I crept away like an evil spirit. Papa! Mama! Please put yourself in my place! Until today, I've never mentioned our relations to anyone. I've had second thoughts a hundred times, a thousand times, but now my minds made up, for once and for all. I can't go on another day like this. I must leave Isamu. Please help me. I'll...

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... witness box he broke down completely, weeping, clasping his hands and saying, 'I swear to you, sir, my wife is innocent.' The magistrate sternly told him to control himself, and began to question him. Bit by bit the true story came out.

I catch myself trying to compare and contrast these two great stories but the area of focus I tried to center around was how little respect both Chidam and Isamu had for their respected wife’s. One allowed is beautiful wife to take the blame and ultimately lost her life for something she did not do. The other destined for a life of unhappiness. Her life didn’t really matter in this story because of the crucial part her husband played in the family’s standing. Another key factor to bring out of these great literary pieces are the way the author uses the story to make the readers experience a different definition of relationships.