The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love

The Barrelmaker Brimful of love was very interesting to me. Osen the main character of the story was portrayed as an innocent girl at the beginning of the story, but at the end was portrayed into society as a typical women, betraying her husband, and doing the inevitable. Osen was sent away by her father at a young age, and was sent to work due to her family’s short comings. She was looked highly upon by the family whom she was sent to work for, she did everything they wanted and needed to make them happy. I think she found satisfaction within in herself through pleasing others and ensuring their happiness. But although doing this she had no idea of what love was or how it felt. She was afraid of the opposite sex because she had no dealings with them their fore she didn’t know how to conform to their advances. Osen soon found out through the old lady who was a former abortionist, that someone had an interest in her. The old lady gathered this information from the copper during the cleaning of the well. “The one I love does not live far away. I love Osen, the maid of the house here. I have sent her a hundred letters without getting a word in reply (Saikaku 592). The women took it upon her self to get the two of them together. She came up with this embellished, dramatic story that she told the family of the bad comings would come to the family after he died, if he couldn’t be with Osen. This story had many different interesting points to me that caught my interest. Eventually Osen fell in love with the copper and they married and had children. Osen lived for this man, she ensured that his every need was met, and talked about him constantly. Her life revolved around his happiness, nothing came before him. I don’t necessarily like the way that the story ended. But I guess since she was so aroused by what her husband meant to her then she felt that she needed to take her life because she betrayed him. I also don’t necessarily agree with the decision she made on trying to have relations with the Chozaemon especially in her home, but at the same time I can understand how she felt to be accused of something that was not inexistent.