"Masks" was a difficult book for me to understand. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and their names were ones I was not familiar with. With this book being a Japanese narrative it made reading difficult. "Masks" is about a woman, Mieko Togano, and her widowed daughter-in-law, Yasuko. Mieko manipulates the relationship between Yasuko and the two men who are in love with her.
"You and I are accomplices, aren't we, in a dreadful crime - a crime that only women could commit." This quote comes in at the very end of the book. I found this quote very interesting because it is said after the fact that Yasuko and Mieko find out about Harume's pregnancy. I think this quote is referencing to the idea of abortion. Harume has a mental disability and with her being pregnant there is a chance she could die giving birth. So when Yasuko says this I think she wants Harume to have an abortion, that way she will survive. Women are the ones who can only have an abortion and I think that it what is meant by "a crime that only women could commit." I think Yasuko is the one who wants Harume to get an abortion more than Mieko because she doesn't think it is right for a woman with so many "physical and mental handicaps" to risk childbirth. By getting an abortion Harume would survive, but by having the child they would be able to carry on the blood line of Akio, who is the dead son of Mieko. I think having an abortion is wrong, but I am not going to get in to that debate.
No comments:
Post a Comment