Assignment 107
April 16,2025
Assignment 107 : The Aesthetics of Regret: A Study of Beauty, Art, and Moral Ambiguity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
This blog is part of an assignment for the paper 107-,
The Aesthetics of Regret: A Study of Beauty, Art, and Moral Ambiguity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
Personal Information :
Name : Mita Jambucha
Batch : M.A. Sem 2 ( 2024 - 2026 )
Enrollment Number : 5108240015
E-mail Address : jambucha66919@gmail.com
Roll Number : 16
Assignment Details :
Unit-4 :- Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
Topic :- The Aesthetics of Regret: A Study of Beauty, Art, and Moral Ambiguity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
Paper code:- 22400
Paper - 107:-
The Twentieth Century Literature:1900 to World War II
Submitted to:- Smt. Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar
Table of contents :
Introduction
Aesthetic Form as Ethical Inquiry
Unity and Complexity in Aesthetic Judgment
The Emotional Depth of Aesthetic Experience
Subjectivity in Aesthetic and Moral Judgments
Intersecting Aesthetic and Moral Values
Conclusion
References
Introduction:
Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World is a quietly powerful exploration of memory, regret, and moral ambiguity through the lens of aesthetic reflection. Set in post-war Japan, the novel follows Masuji Ono, a retired painter grappling with his past involvement in nationalist propaganda. Through Ishiguro’s restrained prose and Ono’s introspective narrative, the reader is invited into a world where artistic beauty and moral responsibility intersect, often uncomfortably. This essay explores how the aesthetic experiences portrayed in the novel function not just as reflections of beauty, but as mechanisms for moral engagement and emotional processing. Drawing from scholarly perspectives on aesthetics and ethics, particularly those found in Dorothy J. Hale’s “Aesthetics and the New Ethics”, Monroe Beardsley’s "Aesthetic Value in Literature," and Mary Mothersill’s “The Aesthetic and the Moral”, the paper argues that Ono's reflections on art and beauty are deeply entwined with his journey toward ethical understanding and emotional reconciliation.
Aesthetic Form as Ethical Inquiry
Dorothy J. Hale, in her essay "Aesthetics and the New Ethics" (PMLA, vol. 124, no. 3, 2009, pp. 896–905), posits that contemporary novels often engage with ethical questions through aesthetic form, prompting readers to interrogate the moral dimensions of beauty and representation. In An Artist of the Floating World, this is evident in Ono’s recollections of his art career. Ono initially pursued the sensual and fleeting pleasures of the "floating world," painting scenes of nightlife and entertainment. These works, though aesthetically pleasing, are eventually rejected by Ono himself in favor of more politically motivated art during Japan's imperial rise.
Hale’s notion that novels frame ethical dilemmas within aesthetic structures is reflected in how Ishiguro presents Ono’s evolving artistic philosophy. Ono’s decision to abandon the floating world style for propaganda art is portrayed not as a triumph of morality over decadence, but as a transition fraught with ethical compromise. His sense of pride in influencing public opinion through his art is later undercut by guilt and social alienation. The narrative structure—fragmented, nonlinear, and reflective—mirrors this moral uncertainty, aligning with Hale’s assertion that narrative form can serve as an ethical medium.
Unity and Complexity in Aesthetic Judgment
Monroe Beardsley, in "Aesthetic Value in Literature" (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 36, no. 1, 1977, pp. 3–12), suggests that unity, complexity, and intensity are key components of aesthetic value. In Ishiguro’s novel, the very tension between aesthetic form and moral ambiguity creates the kind of complexity that Beardsley identifies as central to aesthetic power. Ono’s narrative is marked by moments of intense introspection, where memories of past actions are revisited, often revised, and occasionally contradicted.
Beardsley’s framework helps to understand the aesthetic impact of Ono’s storytelling. The novel does not present a clear moral verdict; rather, it creates a layered experience where the beauty of the prose and the sadness of Ono’s realizations coexist. For example, Ono’s description of his former students burning their artwork during political purges is rendered with haunting beauty, even as it exposes the horrifying consequences of ideological fervor. This convergence of aesthetic and moral complexity is central to the novel’s emotional and intellectual resonance.
The Emotional Depth of Aesthetic Experience
Joerg Fingerhut and Jesse J. Prinz, in their article "Aesthetic Emotions Reconsidered" (The Monist, vol. 103, no. 2, 2020, pp. 223–239), argue that aesthetic experiences are capable of evoking emotions that are morally and psychologically significant. In the case of Ono, aesthetic reflection often triggers powerful feelings of regret and longing. His engagement with the natural world in his later years—expressed through the act of painting flowers and landscapes—marks a return to a purer form of beauty, one untainted by ideological manipulation.
This shift is not simply a return to apolitical art, but a means of healing. The aesthetic emotion here is closely tied to Ono’s moral development. His late-life artistic output symbolizes an attempt to find solace in the ephemeral, aligning with the Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware, or the pathos of things. This emotional response underscores the idea that beauty can provide a space for ethical reflection and personal reconciliation.
Subjectivity in Aesthetic and Moral Judgments
Tomáš Kulka, in his article "Why Aesthetic Value Judgements Cannot Be Justified" (Estetika: The Central European Journal of Aesthetics, vol. 46, no. 1, 2009, pp. 5–20), challenges the objectivity of aesthetic judgments, arguing that they are fundamentally subjective and context-dependent. This insight is particularly relevant to Ono, whose aesthetic choices are influenced by personal trauma, societal expectations, and shifting political landscapes.
Kulka’s position highlights the complexity of Ono’s internal conflicts. His earlier pride in contributing to Japan’s national spirit is gradually undermined by the realization that his art may have caused suffering. The subjective nature of his judgments becomes a means of self-preservation and later, a source of psychological burden. As readers, we are not given definitive answers about the value of Ono’s art; instead, we are invited to navigate the same ambiguities that he does.
Intersecting Aesthetic and Moral Values
Mary Mothersill, in "The Aesthetic and the Moral" (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 33, no. 3, 1975, pp. 299–306), explores the relationship between aesthetic and moral values, questioning whether the two can ever be fully separated. Her conclusion, that aesthetic experiences are often morally charged, is evident in Ono’s journey. His memories are imbued with both the beauty of his artistic past and the moral weight of its implications.
Ishiguro presents Ono as a man who cannot disentangle his identity as an artist from his role in historical events. His work, once a source of pride, becomes a focal point for guilt. Mothersill’s theory supports the idea that aesthetic contemplation often brings moral considerations to the surface. The pleasure Ono once took in his influence becomes a source of emotional conflict, illustrating how the aesthetic and the moral are entwined.
Conclusion
Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World is a profound meditation on the intersections of beauty, art, and moral ambiguity. Through the character of Masuji Ono, Ishiguro examines how aesthetic values shape and are shaped by personal and historical experience. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Hale, Beardsley, Fingerhut and Prinz, Kulka, and Mothersill, this paper has demonstrated that aesthetic experience in the novel is deeply tied to ethical inquiry and emotional resolution. Rather than offering clear moral lessons, Ishiguro’s novel invites readers to dwell in ambiguity, to find meaning in the interplay between regret and beauty, and to appreciate how art can both obscure and illuminate the truths of human experience.
Works Cited
Beardsley, Monroe C. “Aesthetic Value in Literature.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 36, no. 1, 1977, pp. 3–12. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40246261.
Fingerhut, Joerg, and Jesse J. Prinz. “Aesthetic Emotions Reconsidered.” The Monist, vol. 103, no. 2, 2020, pp. 223–239. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48740145.
Hale, Dorothy J. “Aesthetics and the New Ethics: Theorizing the Novel in the Twenty-First Century.” PMLA, vol. 124, no. 3, 2009, pp. 896–905. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25614333.
Kulka, Tomáš. “Why Aesthetic Value Judgements Cannot Be Justified.” Estetika: The Central European Journal of Aesthetics, vol. 46, no. 1, 2009, pp. 5–20. ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31914278_Why_Aesthetic_Value_Judgements_Cannot_Be_Justified.
