Hiroko and Kaoru
Mitsuyo Kakuda, a classmate of Haruki Murakami, is also one of the most representative female writers in contemporary Japanese literature. She often writes stories about the modern Japanese family from a female perspective, and "motherhood" is often the theme of her works. "The Cicada of the Eighth Day" is her representative work that touches people's hearts, mixing crime, suspense, realism and other elements, attracting a large number of readers. With his delicate and true, gentle and profound brushstrokes, Kakuda Mitsuyo depicts touching motherhood and human truth in detail.
Mitsuyo Kakuda further deepens the theme of "family", especially in "The Cicada of the Eighth Day", the relationship between the roles of Hiroko and Kaoru reflects the author's questioning of this idea, in which the image of the mother has become a unique role in the Japanese literary world and even in the forest of the world.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > maternal performance and analysis of "Cicadas on the Eighth Day"</h1>
"Cicadas on the Eighth Day" tells the story of Nogomiya Yoshikazuko falling in love with Akiyama, her husband, Akiyama, and is later tricked into miscarrying, and is unwilling to take Akiyama's newborn daughter (Kaoru) and then flee together. In the process of fleeing, although Heiko and Kaoru are not related by blood, their feelings for each other are even stronger.
Yasuko Mitsuura recommended the book "The Cicada of the Eighth Day" at that time, saying: "The motherhood that runs through the book makes me cry when I think of it. Anyone who looks at it will not be able to hold back tears! "The touching maternal love in the book is the soul of the story, and the classic image of Xihezi is also a unique interpretation of the role of the mother."
Mitsuyo Tsunoda
1. The love and rebirth of Xihezi
Strictly speaking, Heiko is not a mother, but she does perform the duties of a mother. She and Kaoru do not have any blood relationship, but she regards Kaoru as her own, and for four years, she and Kaoru learn how to face life and how to become a qualified mother. So when she saw the baby's pure eyes, suddenly all the malice and hatred threw away the armor in front of the mother's love. She wanted to be a mother, she was determined to have a child, she said: "I will protect you from all pain, sadness, loneliness, insecurity, fear, suffering".
When Kaoru was amazed at seeing the galaxy for the first time, Heiko, full of guilt and deep love, said to Kaoru, "In the future, I will give you everything first." Give you back everything you took from the past. Ocean and mountains, spring flowers and winter snow. ”
At that moment, she was indeed a mother, not just a woman, and she wanted to take Kaoru to see more scenery, and to fulfill her promise at that time, to avoid her shock, to avoid her suffering, to avoid her displacement, to avoid her having no branches to rely on. If she were forced to stand in the middle of the road divided into two, God asked me which side to go, "Whether fortunate or unfortunate, regardless of crime or punishment, I will not hesitate to choose the path with Kaoru in front of me." This sentence vividly explains the dedication of the mother and the great maternal love.
Hirwako was caught by the police at the port. When she was doomed, everything could not go back, and everything should have been gray, her heart was still thinking of Kaoru, and she shouted to the policeman who took Kaoru: "That child, I haven't eaten breakfast yet!" At this moment, the light of motherhood is vividly embodied. Even in danger, all I could think of was the child who was less than four years old. Through her own creation and understanding, Kakuda Mitsuyo analyzes the "hymn of motherly love" that has reshaped the traditions of Japanese society.
2. Interpretation of Xihezi's behavior – the nature of motherhood
In fact, It is not that She is unable to have children, but she is full of guilt for the child she lost in miscarriage, and this guilt and remorse imprisons her in the panic that she cannot have a child, even though the doctor has told Xiwako that she is actually pregnant. So she wanted to raise a child so that she could have the opportunity to be a mother.
Xi hezi impulsively takes away the baby girl is the starting point of the story and the fuse of all conflicts. As a reader, you may not understand why Xi Hezi would leave with the baby girl Kaoru on a whim, which is actually the author's blank space.
It might be more logical to say that it is a hateful abduction, but on the contrary, she is full of love and pity, "I recognize this child." This kid recognizes me too. And the reason for this behavior is not only the sudden burst of maternal brilliance, but also the connection with what happened before, but also to explore one or two.
Keizuko, the wife of Akiyama in the text, in order to stimulate Yoshikazu and make her completely let go, she revealed to her personal affairs such as going to the obstetrics and gynecology department for obstetrics and gynecology and discussing with her husband about naming the child. What makes Yukiwako feel powerless and saddest is that Keizuko talks about Yoshiwako's abortion. Keizuko said, "I can't believe you actually took the child off, replaced by me, no matter what happens, I will give birth to the child." This sentence made Xiwako collapse, because she also wanted to be a mother, and she not only had such a thought, but she also carried the guilt of losing her child.
As Freud said, subconscious desires, by their very nature, are too frightening to be expressed in a normal system of words. The behavior that manifests itself in Hiroko is her own amplified desire—she wants to be a mother, she wants to have a child. So this strong desire confined her to the illusion of infertility, so she chose to irrigate all her overflowing maternal love on the newborn baby Kaoru. At this time, kaoru, who was just born, was her salvation. Under the maternal instinct, no amount of anger can resist the tide of maternal love. This is the "mother's nature" that Mitsuyo Kakuda discusses.
3. The Duty and Redemption of the Empty Shell Mother
Many images of mothers are depicted, such as Kaoru's biological mother, Keitsuko, the women of the Angel House, and Mrs. Changjiang, Jigme's mother. They all have one thing in common, they are both empty-shell mothers. Keizuko and Kaoru were missing those four years of companionship, and although Kaoru later returned to Keizuko and changed her name to Eiri in order to forget the past, they always lived in the shadow of Hiroko.
Keizuko wants to reconcile with her daughter, but because every time she can see Keiwako's figure from Keiri's behavior, "When I see your face, I think of that woman, why am I the only one who suffers like this?" This pain made her want to be intimate with her daughter every time, but every time she coldly pushed her away. The love and hatred for the daughter, the cold relationship with the husband, and the constant harassment of public opinion have made this woman under pressure and reduced to an empty shell, empty of the identity of a wife and mother, but unable to perform the corresponding duties.
The House of angels is a gathering place for empty-shell mothers. This is an isolated and closed organization of women who have abortions, cannot have children, and have to be separated from their children, and it is described in the book that many faceless white dolls are placed in the angel house, symbolizing the unborn children of empty-shell mothers.
Xi hezi's daily job is to wash these dolls with heavenly water. It is said that as long as it is here, you can get the forgiveness of those children who have no chance of being born. The white doll is the sustenance of every woman in the angel's family to the child, and using the water of heaven to clean the doll is also a relief from their guilt for the child.
cauterize
Jigami's mother, Mrs. Changjiang, is also a poor mother who has been separated from her daughter for many years. In the early years, Mrs. Changjiang disagreed with Jigme, causing Himi to run away from home in anger and not return for many years. Therefore, Heiko came to Shodoshima and brought news from Jigme, and Mrs. Changjiang was also quite happy in her heart, and Mrs. Changjiang's maternal love for Jigami had been too long to be placed.
Therefore, Mrs. Changjiang did not just treat Her as a friend of her daughter, but in a way, Mrs. Changjiang actually regarded Xihezi as a daughter in her heart. Mrs. Changjiang opened a noodle shop in the local area and took good care of Kaoru And Kaoru: she arranged for Hitomi to work at the noodle shop and gave Kaoru the clothes she had left for her grandson. In Mrs. Changjiang's view, taking care of Xihezi can be the salvation of her mother's lack of duties for many years.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the responsibility of the mother - the woman is weak, and the mother is strong </h1>
1. Reflections on motherhood
"The Cicada of the Eighth Day" also reflects the reflection on the social role of the mother. When Hiroko was arrested, she still remembered that Kaoru had not eaten breakfast, but Keizuko saw her daughter again after four years but pushed away in shock because Kaoru peed her pants. Heiko can see Kaoru as her daughter, even if they are not related by blood, but although Keizuko is Kaoru's biological mother, she cannot let go of her estrangement and prejudice, and treats her daughter coldly.
In the journey of escape, the mother's love, which was not related by blood, was even deeper. Someone once said that human beings are divided into men and women, and there is another category, that is, mothers. This category is something we cannot understand. They do not care about returns, they do not care about consequences, just because of the nature of their mothers and the deep love, so they are willing to give selflessly.
2. Mother's love can support the role of mother
In court, Nogamiya Kazuko calmly said, "In the past four years, I have tasted the joy of raising children, and I am grateful for this." From the beginning of the momentary impulse of pity, so she took the child away, to grow up with Kaoru little by little, in four years, she and the child have been inseparable.
Hiroko also learned how to live and how to be a mother in life, not just by instinct and impulse. She gradually mastered parenting skills such as making milk powder, coaxing babies to sleep, changing diapers, etc., while also watching Kaoru grow teeth and learn to speak... They grow together, and every day is a new surprise and a landscape that has never been seen before.
"Whenever I think about parenting and not having to pass an exam, I feel terrible." Kotaro Isaka said. In this world, some women are able to have children but are not necessarily suitable to become mothers, while some women cannot have children but have deep maternal love. The so-called "women are weak, but mothers are strong." Mom is not only a social role, a family identity, but also a heavy responsibility. It is precisely because of this sacrifice that maternal love is greater and more incomparable than all the feelings in the world. The role of mother needs maternal love to hold up, otherwise it is just a title.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > the dilemma of "widowed parenting"</h1>
1. The social origin of women's status
Japan has long been male as the center of power, and some scholars have pointed out that the modern family model in Japan is that men become independent individuals, while women need to serve the family and become subordinates of men. Women have lost their economic right to independence, and the traditional social discipline of "nurturing women's morality" has further confused modern women.
Kakuda Mitsuyo once borrowed onoko's mouth in "She on the Other Side" and said: "The culprit of Dink is not a professional woman, but a housewife's complaint." Reminiscent of "The Cicada of the Eighth Day", Kaoru's birth mother, Keizuko, who was once highly educated and should have been able to make a career in the workplace, but after marrying, she could only be an ordinary housewife, and her husband became her world. Her husband's living and the trivialities of life are all things she deals with every day, her vision is forced to be narrow, and loneliness has become a habit, so "complaining" has become a matter that accompanies this housewife for the rest of her life, and her life is limited to chicken feathers.
3. Break free of the "shackles" and realize self-worth
Does a woman, especially a mother, have to stay at home and teach her children? not necessarily. In "Cicadas on the Eighth Day", the traditional male character image is vague or even irresponsible. For example, Keitsuko's husband Akiyama Shohiro and Eiri's lover Kishida Takashi embody a triple betrayal of the identities of husband, father, and lover. They have no sense of responsibility and directly lead to the tragedy of the women around them.
Most of the female characters in the book are independent individuals who live on the margins, trying to break free from the spiritual shackles of "male superiority and female inferiority", and have self-awareness. They are eager to win the recognition and respect of society and realize their own value. At the same time, Kakuda Mitsuyo also called on men in society to take responsibility for themselves, and in the process of child-rearing, both parents must make efforts, so as to break the dilemma of "widowed parenting".
< h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > summary</h1>
As Chikusa says in the text, "Cicadas that live to the eighth day can see things that other cicadas can't see." "Cicadas don't live to last until the eighth day. If you live to the eighth day, although lonely, the cicada who lives to the eighth day will see more scenery and experience more beautiful things than other cicadas. Therefore, the cicada on the eighth day means rebirth. These four years, the eighth day of Hiwako and the eighth day of Kaoru, are an unexpected turning point in the trajectory of life, a different scenery in a life that may follow the rules in the future.
"Cicadas on the Eighth Day" shows the experiences of Both Hirako and Kaoru, and to a certain extent gives the empty shell women in society unprecedented warmth and hope of self-redemption, and Hitako embodies that she is a step away from angels and demons. "The Cicada of the Eighth Day" wants to express that life cannot be as good as you think, but it is definitely not as bad as you think, rather than wandering from the dazedness of being marginalized and hollow, it is better to bravely pursue the beauty of life, like the cicada of the eighth day, to be reborn.
< h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > references:</h1>
1. "On the Expression of Motherhood in the Works of Kakuda Mitsuyo"
2. "The Redemption of a Mother: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of the Cicada > of the Eighth Day of <"