The Humiliated Wife: Rereading Ryunosuke Wasagawa's "In the Bamboo Forest"

Herodotus' "History", the father of Western historiography, records a strange story from the beginning.

The king of Lydia thought that his wife was more beautiful than any woman in the world, and he asked one of his most beloved bodyguards to come to his bedroom at night and see for himself his wife's naked body to prove that he was right. The guards did as the king said, but were spotted by the princess while peeping. The princess was deeply humiliated and said to the guards: You and the king, one of the two must die! Either you kill the king, right where I was humiliated, and then be my husband and take the throne; or you die. The guards chose the former, and thus received the titles of princess and kingdom.

Twenty-four hundred years later, tens of thousands of miles away, a Japanese writer named Ryunosuke Wasagawa wrote a novel, "In the Bamboo Forest", about a samurai couple walking in the mountains and encountering robbers on the road; the robber raped his wife in front of the samurai; finally, the samurai was killed, the wife ran away, and the robber was arrested. The novel is written from multiple perspectives, and several people have inconsistent accounts of the case, but all identify themselves as the murderer (or suicide).

The robber's version: "I didn't intend to take a man's life. But just as I was leaving the woman who was lying on the ground crying and fleeing outside the bamboo forest, the woman suddenly grabbed my arm like a madman, and she cried intermittently, "You or my husband, there must be one between you." Throwing ugliness in front of two men is more painful than death. Later, he breathlessly said, No matter which of you survives, I would rather follow him. At this moment, I violently killed the man. ”

Samurai Ghost's version: "As if in a dream, my wife was led by a robber and walked outside the bamboo forest, her face suddenly turned white, pointed at me at the foot of the cedar tree, and shouted several times like crazy: 'Please kill that person.'" As long as he lives, I can't be with you. ’...... The wife shouted like this, while grabbing the robber's arm... My wife's knife flashed right in front of me. I took it in my hand and poked it in the chest. ”

Samurai Wife's version: "The husband's eyes are no different from those of Fang Cai. Underneath the cold contempt, there is the light of hatred. Shame, sadness, anger — I don't know how to describe how I felt at that time. I staggered to my feet and walked over to my husband. 'You, it's already like this, and I can't be with you anymore.' I'm going to die. But...... But please, too, die. You see my shame, I can't leave you alone to live like this. ’...... I raised my knife and said to my husband again, 'Well, allow me to take your life first, and I'll come later.' ’”

Looking at the accounts of the three people together, the truth of the case is basically clear: after the samurai wife was humiliated, she wanted her husband to die (the three people's theory is exactly the same); asked the robber to kill the husband (according to the two men), or did it himself (the samurai wife's statement); the reason was to lose ugliness in front of the husband (the two men's statement), or it was difficult to tolerate the husband's hatred (the samurai wife's statement) - except that the murderer said differently, the reason for killing was slightly different (in fact, it was the same thing), and the core plot was the same. That is, after the wife is insulted, the psychology changes, and she hopes that the husband will die, and it is at the scene of the humiliation.

"In the Bamboo Forest" is based on the "Tales of The Past and Present", but in its archetypal story, there is no multiple perspectives and the above plot, only showing the incompetence of the samurai, even his own wife can not protect; "In the Bamboo Forest" is closer to the ancient Greek story, such as the Japanese version of the ancient Greek story, especially the version told by the robbers. We see that the relationship between husband and wife is put to the limit, showing that the wife has a psychological mutation after being humiliated, and wants the husband to die to wash away the shame, from Herodotus to Ryunosuke Wasagawa.

However, the multiple perspectives attract the attention of the reader, and everyone focuses on sherlock Holmes, trying to find out who the murderer really is, but ignoring the most critical core plot. In other words, the so-called "multiple perspectives" are like a kind of blindfold, and like a trance array, obscuring the real intention of the novel.

Later, Akira Kurosawa took this multi-perspective story as the main trunk, plus another novel by Ryunosuke Wasagawa, "Rashomon Gate", which became a masterpiece in the history of cinema. Like the readers of the novel, moviegoers are mostly lost in the labyrinth of multiple perspectives, ignoring the core plot of the abused wife asking her husband to die.

Imagine if Herodotus's History also had multiple perspectives, such as the kings, princesses, and guards saying different things, it is estimated that future readers will also be lost in its labyrinth. Fortunately, there is none.

Especially fortunately, through the ancient Greek story, revisiting "In the Bamboo Forest", we can walk through the labyrinth of multiple perspectives and see the truth of human nature that the novelist wants to reveal.

However, this is a shocking truth, which may make husbands all over the world worry.

I would like to commemorate the centenary of the publication of Ryunosuke Wasagawa's "In the Bamboo Forest". (Shao Yiping)