He did start liking her at a very young age (in the book, it was actually from the day he saw her by the stream; they seem to have added the later scene where she peeks into the teahouse so that it wouldn't be so creepy!)--but no, he didn't know that she was in love with him, or that she even remembered him. In the book, it is clear that he is her danna until his death, but it's hard to really look at it in terms of "true love" as we're used to seeing it. He was married, as were most of the patrons of geisha, and didn't leave his wife for her--a lot of people would say that means he wasn't really in love with her. Others would argue that it simply wasn't socially feasible for him to do that, and he was with her to the extent that he could be.
The ultimate reason given for why Nobu wasn't right for her was that he was too angry about her tryst with the officer (in the movie, he actually says she'd be dead to him). I suppose we're to take that to mean that he couldn't accept her no matter what, but honestly, I agree with you. . . he seemed to have the most meaningful relationship with her. Sayuri's connection with the Chairman was very lasting in her own mind, but it's more like a lingering infatuation in my opinion. (Again, there are several things in the book that make this a clearer distinction, especially the fact that Nobu was the one to offer a safe place to wait out the war, saving it for Sayuri specifically even as other geishas asked for help.)
I loved the visuals of the film, but I thought it was an odd choice for the screen. The clear-cut romance and happy ending that can be told in a couple hours just isn't possible, even in this heavily-romaticized version of the geishas' world.
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vl2
12 years ago
The ultimate reason given for why Nobu wasn't right for her was that he was too angry about her tryst with the officer (in the movie, he actually says she'd be dead to him). I suppose we're to take that to mean that he couldn't accept her no matter what,
Not disagreeing with you on anything, just chiming in to say that this never sat right with me. Nobu was angry with Sayuri when they parted before the war, and he still went out of his way to save her. I hoped for a minute when the Chairman started going on about how Nobu had very little kindness in his life, but then in the same breath disparaged him for not being able to forgive someone he'd trusted for going out of her way to deliberately hurt him, that Sayuri would have at least called him on his unfairness, even if only in her own head. But, no, all she can do is mope because now Nobu isn't her friend anymore.
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StrawberryReef
12 years ago
I totally agree. :-/ I said "the reason given" instead of "this is why" because I don't agree with the reason given. I honestly think the Chairman just wanted to have her, and since Pumpkin basically revealed to him that Sayuri was making a concerted effort to repel Nobu, he decided to just throw that plan out and act on his desires. The Chairman didn't have to tell Nobu what he'd seen--if he had been serious about wanting Nobu to "have" Sayuri and be happy, he wouldn't have told him at all.
I don't think Sayuri really had almost any control over what happened to her in life, so I give her a pass on many things she did and said, but I agree that she was being unreasonable about losing Nobu's friendship. The whole point of dodging Nobu's danna offers for like a decade was because a man will never move in on a close business associate's woman, and she wanted the Chairman. . . did it not occur to her that the converse would be true--that if she was with the Chairman, then Nobu (being obviously romantically interested in her) would back off? And certainly if Nobu had seen her with the Minister, she would have lost his friendship, too. It may have been unfortunate that she couldn't have both her fantasy lover and her valued friend, but the reality was that she couldn't have both, and she was ultimately far more fortunate than any other geisha in the entire book.
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unknown_soul278
11 years ago
Sayuri knew that the Chairman would never become romantically involved with her in any way as long as he believed Nobu wanted her and cared for her. She had to find a way to make Nobu not want her anymore and her actions on the island were an attempt to stop Nobu wanting her. The wrong man witnessed it, but it did have the desired effect when Nobu found out.
The book depicts a very strong relationship between Sayuri and the Chairman, and he remained her danna until his death, even financing her relocation to New York City and her opening a tea house there. It also implied they had a son but it was never stated directly.
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StrawberryReef
11 years ago
That's true; her desperate plan to rid herself of Nobu was intended to allow her a chance to be with the Chairman. Despite Pumpkin's sabotage, it succeeded.
The book, told from Sayuri's perspective, does show that they entered a lasting geisha/danna relationship and almost certainly had a child. I like to analyze that relationship from my own perspective, though. It's interesting to think about the full implications that are glossed over because they aren't things that Sayuri questions, such as the Chairman remaining married, or such as their relationship being a financial one at the core.
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Sofianna
11 years ago
Why do you think their relationship was a financial one at the core? I totally disagree with this (based on both the film and the book).
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StrawberryReef
11 years ago
I think you know the answer to this, having seen the film and read the book. :-) What is a danna?
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