Power In Kitsune's Reeling For The Empire

There are many examples of different kinds of power in Reeling for The Empire. The Recruitment Agent is an individual in the story who has a previously established power, while the factory workers develop their own power through rebellion later on. The goals of the Agent and the girls are completely different; one seeking capital gain while the other seeks true freedom and the power that comes with it. However, both sides use power as a means to achieve what they strive for.

With the use of flowery language the Agent glorifies and propagates the factory work in order to convince the family that they should feel honored that he has decided to recruit their daughter; “We are recruiting only the most skillful and loyal mill workers, [...] not

We know very little about the Agent besides what he does, but it is possible that he was specifically chosen to do the recruiting because of his appearance and charisma. Upon her first encounter with him, Kitsune can hardly focus on anything else besides his looks, and this fact does not go unnoticed by the Agent. He takes advantage of her star-struck state, initiating unnecessary and suggestive physical contact such as “grabbing at [her] waist”, and “[letting] his fingers brush softly against [her] knuckles as he drew out the contract” (Karen Russell, 35). Although there is no specific indication of the age of the Agent or Kitsune, one can gather from the ages of some of the other girls (Tooka whom is twelve and Etsuyo who is nineteen) that at least some of them are quite young, or were young at the time of their capture. Chances are, with the times being what they were, the Agent is older than them, perhaps even significantly so. Therefore I conclude that the agent was using his position of power as an adult and as a man--both of which are aspects of identity that did and still do significantly impact one's life, opportunities and privilege--to predatorily manipulate Kitsune, as well as the other

As the story states, most of the girls had no say in whether or not they became the Agent’s property, and certainly no say in whether or not they consumed the tea. Kitsune’s story differs slightly in the sense that she felt the illusion of free will, when in reality she failed to recognize the invisible walls that barred her decisionmaking. She felt obligated to sign the contract with the Agent in order to help pay off her father’s debts because that was her duty as a daughter and as a woman (35). She also felt obligated to drink the tea because she thought it was a test that the standing of her future career depended on, although it is later revealed that she would have been forced to do so anyway (Karen Russell, 36-37). Kitsune describes feeling uneasy before the tea ceremony, literally thinking to herself “something is wrong” (Karen Russell, 35). Despite her intuition, she continues to make the choices that will satisfy the men in her life and subsequently cost her