Evaluating "Reeling for the Empire" by Karen Russel

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"Reeling for the Empire" by Karen Russel
Karen Russel's story "Reeling for the Empire" focuses on the Japanese women's lives who have been lured into serving as silkworms at one of the silk weaving factories. These women got alienated from their families and offered happier life of manufacturing products for their country. They are duped into having tea that turns them into silkworms by the agent who recruits them. However, Kitsune had signed the contract to earn money to help cater to her family's needs (p. 35). These women finally discovered they should get out of the factory and devise a cocoon themselves before turning into moths. This narrative also has a figurative side that extends beyond Russel's physical plotline. Each woman weaves a different silk color, and Kitsune's shifts from green to black as the story progresses. This shift of color corresponds to her understanding that she has the power to change her life and leave the factory. Kitsune says that "regret is a pilgrimage back to the place where I was free to choose." (p. 45). Kitsune had accepted her fate by the time her silk had turned green, but she still felt a sense of pride in what she was doing for her country. She is troubled because she gave her life away to the agent by the narrative's conclusion and wished to make a change. Kitsune discovers her inner strength after Dai's death, enabling her to accept her past decisions and decide to influence her destiny.
Since the story revolves around the time being spent in the factory before the women decide to break free, "Reeling for the Empire" takes after a "man in hole" plot structure. Russel finishes the tale on a positive note, even though the reader never fully knows the fate of the Kaiko-jokes. As a result, despite a few happy moments in the text, it does not seem appropriate to describe the story as a "from bad to worse" story. The decision to leave the hopeful ending is successful because it strengthens the notion that such women could save themselves from a life of oppression. Though Russel does not explicitly state the text's message, it is impossible to believe that the women do not thrive because of the circumstances that led to their cocooning demonstrate drive and drive. The women are taking control of their fate for the first time in the novel, so if Russel intended them to fail, she might have written it in.
Kitsune, one of the silk peopl...