Akiko, Jane and Sei Shonagon: Similarities and dissimilarities

The three main characters of this novel have both similarities and dissimilarities. When first introduced to these characters one might think that they are all complete opposites but when you read further on you see that they all have something in common with each other.

Jane wants to be a documentary filmmaker and lives in a small apartment in New York City. She is struggling to survive until one day she gets a call to help with the production of “My American Wife!” Jane is an independent woman who does not need a man to take care of her and give meaning to her life.

Akiko on the surface seems to be Jane’s complete opposite. She is an abused housewife who does everything her husband “John” tells her to, besides buying him the right type of condoms. However Akiko was not always this way, she herself used to be an independent woman who made her living by writing copy for comic books. In a way Akiko and Jane were very alike before Akiko got married. They were both independent and they both worship the writings of Sei Shonagon. I believe Akiko wishes she was still writing copy for comic books because she seems very unhappy in her marriage. I believe Jane was also unhappy in her previous marriage and that is why she decided to get out of it.

Sei Shonagon was a very independent woman and very ahead of her times. She learned how to write with the bold characters that were only used by men at that time. She inspired Jane to use men’s Japanese and to be different. In many ways Jane has become a lot like Shonagon. Akiko herself also admires Shonagon, she inspired Akiko to make the lists like she herself had made.

When given a first glance at the three main characters of this book one would think that they had absolutely nothing in common, one was a housewife, one was a filmmaker, and the other was from a whole different century. However once you dig deeper into the story you see that Jane, Akiko, and Sei Shonagon all have certain qualities in common.