The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle # 17
Kumiko’s letter is quite a revelation as there were hints throughout the book of suspicion concerning her real intentions in leaving Toru. Her last letter conveys another Kumiko that is more vulnerable and reckless, since she is ready to kill her brother. It appears as a shock when she reveals that Noboru has abused her, which explains why she left, as she was trapped and manipulated by him. Noboru’s power over women is conveyed through the similarities between Creta Kano and Kumiko, “ I did not sleep with just one man. I slept with many other men. Too many too count. I myself have no idea what caused me to do such a thing. Looking back upon it now, I think it may have been my brother’s influence.” (602) It feels like Noburu triggers the worst inner instincts in them, and exposes them to the outer world, as both Creta and Kumiko feel the need to sleep with other men with no control over their own bodies. There is this numbness and feeling of darkness that is recurrent when they talk about their experience, as if they were trapped in the dark room 208 and could not escape Noboru’s control, unless someone went to save them.
Also, Mackerel could be compared to Kumiko as he left the house, but at the end found his way back to Toru; like Kumiko who confessed the truth about her brother to be issued from him. In a sense it is an accomplishment for Toru since his efforts were not meaningless and helped Kumiko hold on to the bit of hope she still had of stopping Noboru by killing him, even if it meant going to prison. Kumiko’s rejection was in fact not dictated not by her own feelings, but by the feeling of hatred that Noboru had, since he viewed Toru as the man that stole his sister and wanted to get her back by any malevolent means.
I find it interesting that you mention this sort of "lack of control over their bodies" that both Creta and Kumiko have after being defiled by Noburu; although I did realize that both of them did have this reaction, I never made the connection. I might be interesting to see, will Kumiko eventually become, like Creta did, a "prostitute of the mind"? (Not exactly a prosistute since she is not one-unlike Creta, but a woman who will sleep with other men in their minds, controlling their dreams like Creta did to Toru). Noburu, more than ever, is being portrayed as the man who has absolute control over everything. (and not in a good way) It is true that it seems like they are unable to escape this "spell" he cast on them.
ReplyDeleteI was very enlightened by your response to Kumiko's letter, especially by the comment that Noburu Wataya seems to "trigger the worst instincts in [Kumiko and Creta Kano]" and that he seems to have a strong grip on the women in his life. I absolutely agree that Kumiko is incapable of moving on from her brother's defilement, and that it has an effect on her personal life, since she is unable to feel sexual pleasure in her relations with her own husband and feels that the only way she could even gain sexual "freedom" is in an illicit affair with a married man. Kumiko and Creta, who have both been defiled by Noboru, experience opposite reactions to this act. Kumiko is almost numbed by it, unable to live a normal sexual life with the person she loves; Creta, on the other hand, is finally capable of feeling pleasure when she is defiled by Noboru, even though she is in some aspects enslaved by it because she becomes a "prostitute of the mind". Both are unable to forget the act, and both have a difficult time moving on from it throughout their lives.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your response to Kumiko's letter and the fact that she and Creta Kano are connected in a way since they've both been defiled by Nobory Wataya. I also like your comment that Toru's efforts are not meaningless because he actually helped Kumiko by letting her know that he was there for her, giving her the strength to not give up and actually make the decision to kill her brother. He also helped Creta Kano in some way, when she takes his idea of thinking in the well, and when he sleeps with her, so that she can be "liberated from this defilementlike something inside me [Creta]" (p.312) It's like NW is the illness or curse, and Toru is the cure.
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