“The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love” : Sexual Desire and Manipulation

The theme of sexual desire is persistent throughout “The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love”. Manipulation is another theme present throughout the story. As talked about in class, modernity results in a rise of manipulators and the focus of individuals and their desires.

“The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love” touches on both those prevalent themes. When Osen, old Nanny, Kyushichi, and the cooper go on their journey the men’s sexual intrigues get the best of them. “Thereafter the four of them slept in the same inn each night. Kyushichi, watching carefully for any opportunity to satisfy his secret desires…” (Saikaku 598). Throughout the night Kyushichi tries his hardest to make a pass at Osen. Of course, the cooper prevents this from happening but, “Thus the two men stood in each other’s way the whole night through” (Saikaku 598), suggests that both men tried to fulfill their sexual desires. Osen herself gave into her sexual desires when she went upstairs to join the cooper, “Upstairs she found her lover, and together they drank the cup of betrothal, pledging themselves to each other forever” (Saikaku 599).

The Nanny is the greatest manipulator in this story. She manipulates the family into thinking Osen must get married because there is a man who is supposedly “… desperately in love, so tortured by his fatal passion… He swore that within a week after his death his ghost would come to kill every member of this household” (Saikaku 594). The story Nanny told Osen, Osen believed it in its entirety. “Without further persuasion and before she had even seen him, Osen was consumed with love for this man” (Saikaku 595).