Page:Tayama Katai and His Novel Entitled Futon (Reece).pdf/241

 Nevertheless, if she informed her parents about her love affair it was obvious that they would not approve, and might, if the time was right, come at once to get her. She swore that as Tanaka came up to Tokyo after a lot of trouble and since they had not fallen in love casually nor was theirs superficial love as might be the case of love between worldly men and women, they would never commit a dishonorable act nor indulge themselves. Literature was a difficult road to follow; Tanaka might not be able to support a family by writing novels; however, if they were going to progress along the same road in the future, they would like to work together. She begged that Tanaka be allowed to remain in Tokyo for the time being. Tokio could not give a flat refusal to her urgent request. He did have doubts as to her chastity based on her behavior at Saga in Kyoto, but on the other hand, he believed her explanation and trusted that no such thing had taken place between the two of them. Reflecting on the experiences of his own youth, he realized that platonic love could be attained, but carnal love could not be so easily put into practice. Whereupon Tokio said if they would not yield to temptation, he could leave the situation alone for the time being, and gave her lessons in great detail on spiritual love, carnal love, and the relationship between love and human life, as well as on the duties which educated and modern women should accept. He explained to her the reason the ancients cautioned women about their chastity was not moral sanctions but to protect women's independence; if a woman once allowed a man to have her body, she would completely loose her freedom; since western women fully understood this condition, there could be no objection to their