In both Sei Shonagan’s Pillow Book and the New York Times article about the Afghan women, females are seen as not having power to control their own circumstances. The difference is that one is taking place about a thousand years ago and one still happening. “’If you run away from home, you may be raped or put in jail and then sent home and then what will happen to you?’ asked Rachel Reid, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who tracks violence against women …Returned runaways are often shot or stabbed in honor killings because the families fear they have spent time unchaperoned with a man…” (NY Times article) A woman, who is angry with her husband about some trifling matter leaves home and goes somewhere to hide. She is certain that he will rush about looking for her; but he does nothing of the kind and shows the most infuriating indifference. Since she cannot stay away for ever, she swallows her pride and returns” (B, 257)
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Yuan, your comparison doesn’t hold up. Afghan women are punished severely or even killed for leaving home, while in your citation from Sei Shonagon, a woman’s absence from home is barely even noticed, and her husband greets her return with indifference. The wife described by Sei Shonagon is empowered to control her circumstances at least to this extent: she can choose to leave home, and she can choose to return. Your claim that these two passages illustrate a similarity between the two texts is unconvincing.