Memoirs of a Geisha: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

Over the next few weeks, Sayuri and Mameha attend small parties and gatherings with Nobu and the Chairman. Before going out every night, Sayuri tells Auntie – in Hatsumomo’s presence – that she’s going to meet Nobu. Since she thinks Sayuri is embarrassing herself by spending time with “Mr. Lizard,” Hatsumomo doesn’t follow her to the parties.

At the parties, Sayuri follows Mameha’s instructions by continuing to cultivate a relationship with Nobu. At one party, Sayuri kneels closer to Nobu than she intended, causing Nobu to slam his sake cup onto the table in annoyance and shift away from her. When Sayuri and Mameha leave the party, Sayuri says that Nobu must not like her very much. Mameha responds that if Nobu didn’t like her, he wouldn’t keep inviting her to parties. Mameha says that though Nobu’s temperament seems as “gentle as a sack of gravel,” he is actually a kind man in his own way.

On one occasion, Sayuri and a group of geisha are entertaining Nobu, the Chairman, and some other businessmen at a teahouse when Hatsumomo appears. All night, Sayuri doesn’t even look at the Chairman for fear that her eyes will reveal her attraction to him. Sayuri knows that if Hatsumomo sees that she has feelings for the Chairman, then Hatsumomo will immediately try to ruin any chance Sayuri has with him.

To convince Hatsumomo that she likes Nobu and not the Chairman, Sayuri loosens one of her ornaments so it lands in Nobu’s lap. At first, Sayuri was planning to pick it from between his legs, but she feels too embarrassed to continue with her plan. All the guests watch as Nobu picks up the ornament and then tells a maid to fetch a package he has brought. Inside the package is a beautiful ornamental hair comb. Nobu tells Sayuri that he was going to give her this gift at the end of the night, but Sayuri’s hair ornament falling out seemed like a sign that he should give it to her now. Hatsumomo helps Sayuri put it in her hair and then gives a theatrical sigh, as if she were watching a budding romance.

A few months after Mameha and Sayuri’s encounter with Dr. Crab, he invites them to have tea with him. Mameha suggests they meet at a small teahouse that Hatsumomo would feel too embarrassed to be seen in. At the teahouse, Mameha tells stories while Sayuri pours tea for the Doctor. Dr. Crab is quiet all night. Though Sayuri thinks that they are boring him, he begins inviting them to tea every week.

A few months later, Hatsumomo brags to Sayuri that she and Pumpkin will be leading the German Ambassador around Gion. Feeling satisfied that she has been tricking Hatsumomo this whole time, Sayuri shows no expression when Hatsumomo says this. Hatsumomo gives Sayuri a suspicious look and then walks off. A few days later, Sayuri and Mameha go to the teahouse to meet Dr. Crab. As they’re about to enter, they see Hatsumomo and Pumpkin leaving. When Mameha and Sayuri enter the teahouse, Dr. Crab brushes past them, saying he doesn’t like it when people deceive him.

Distressed that her plan is falling apart, Mameha tells Sayuri to ask Pumpkin how Hatsumomo found out about Dr. Crab. Sayuri asks why they need the Doctor’s help anyway. Though worried that Sayuri will let something slip to Hatsumomo, Mameha agrees to her tell her plan. Mameha says it all has to do with Sayuri’s “mizuage.” Mameha explains the term by saying that men have an “eel” that likes to wiggle around in a woman’s “cave.” A “mizuage” is when a woman has an eel inside her cave for the first time – when she loses her virginity.

Mameha explains that Dr. Crab paid a record amount in Gion for Mameha’s mizuage years before. Mameha says that she hopes to start a bidding war between the Doctor and Nobu over Sayuri’s mizuage. If the bidding gets high enough, then Sayuri will be able to pay off her debts. Mameha hopes that this success will throw Hatsumomo off balance, possibly even making Hatsumomo do something rash that will sully her own reputation. If Hatsumomo dishonors herself, then people will be less likely to heed her rumors about Sayuri.