I was watching Aristocrats at the online Japanese Film Festival the other day, and I was surprised to find some parallels with this book. A main theme of the movie was (very mild movie spoiler:) exactly the very explicit and constant pressure from both family and peers to marry early and have children, as well as the open judging of the bride by the groom’s family. As I was watching I thought it portrayed more of an upper class problem (these were all wealthy families with long bloodlines) than a general Japanese society problem, but there is no indication that Natsuki’s and Tomoomi’s families are anything but ordinary. So if we take the book at face value, it would seem that the (book spoilers:) same undisguised pressure, demand really, spans across all of Japanese society? It’s not the wish for grandchildren that I found shocking, but the way parents, in-laws and even friends felt it was okay to openly pry into the couple’s most private affairs and not only have a vocal opinion on them but actually demand that they change or divorce, as if marriage is nothing more than a business contract between families. The “private” discussion of the in-laws about Natsuki’s reproductive capability was also indicative of how it seems to still be considered solely the wife’s duty to have children regardless of circumstances, and her own personal failure if this doesn’t happen. I really hope the situations described here are not indicative of Japanese society as a whole, but if that’s the case, Natsuki is really spot on with her whole “factory” metaphor.
The private chat with Kise was a very welcome surprise. She was basically a stranger to readers all this time, but now we finally got to see a little of her point of view. This candid talk with Natsuki was a long time coming. My heart warmed when I realized she always knew about what Natsuki had been going through, just hadn’t been in a position to assess it properly, being still a child at the time, and a bullied one at that. Then I sobered up a bit when she openly admitted than in protecting Natsuki she was basically protecting herself, because no one would want the sister of a murderer. Still, I’d like to think she -generally- meant well. She could have handled what she knew in any number of ways, but she chose to be discreet and (sort of) understanding. I wish she could have been the friend Natsuki needed, but it wasn’t to be.
I was wondering about that actually. Tomoomi is too flightly for me to understand, but Natsuki is constantly walking a tightrope between society and her escapism fantasies. I’m struggling to understand whether she speaks metaphorically when she talks about aliens and magic now she’s grown up, or if she half-believes it. Does she really still wonder whether she killed a witch that night? She even says herself that Pohapipinpobopia was a way of her brain to protect her, then seems to be convinced by her husband’s claim that she is indeed an alien. Unlike her husband, she seems to both understand very well how society works, and be very good at lying to herself to protect her sanity.
It’s heartwarming how her husband seems to be the only one who unconditionally accepts her (even after he hears she may have killed someone), but I’m not sure he’s good for her. She’s balancing between her escapism and her need to fit in, and her husband is firmly dragging her towards escapism. I wonder what tomorrow brings for them.