Doctor's Wife Mood

This merely my outline...write it yourself!

How the Motif of Death creates the Somber Mood

I. Through the recurring motif of death the author creates a somber mood A. The Doctor’s Wife by Sawako Ariyoshi B. Kokoro by Natsume Soseki
II. Using an unaffected tone the author reveals deaths that are important to the novel.
A. “On a night so cold that the herb garden was covered in frost the woman gasped her last breath. K, at the time, was too preoccupied with her own nausea as she sat by Otsugi’s bed in prayer. And her mother-in-law departed from this world without learning of her pregnancy” (Ariyoshi 149).
1. Otsugi as the antagonist is a main character in the novel, and even though she
and Kae’s relationship is basically the main focus of the novel her death is mentioned an unaffected or nonchalant way as though her death plays no importance to the rest of the novel.
B. “I was not yet twenty when I lost both of my parents. I think that my wife once mentioned to you that they died of the same disease. Also, if I remember correctly, she told you, much to your surprise, that they died almost at the same time” (Soseki 129)
1. Even though Sensei’s parents are very minor characters alone their death is the beginning of the downward spiral that Sensei’s life follows. Sensei is speaking of his parents, the people who raised him and the unaffected tone the author uses when bring up their death brings Sensei’s misanthropic nature full circle. He is so close to his death that bringing up loved ones has no effect on the tone.
C. In both novels deaths that cause major shifts in the plot of the story are undertaken with distant and unaffected tones that mislead the reader into thinking that their deaths are unimportant. When in reality the deaths that are mentioned in such an unimportant manner are very important in developing the novel.

III. Through the motif of death characters become unified.
A. ““No one can share the suffering of a mother who must out live her own child except another mother who has had the same misfortune,” she cried, her tears rolling freely over Otsugi’s shoulder” (Ariyoshi 141).
1.
Kae and Otsugi’s imperfect mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship is the catalyst for The Doctor’s Wife and throughout Kae’s life in the home they have been quietly feuding for Seishu’s attention, but through the common bond of them each losing a child they take comfort in their common bond in an attempt to fill the empty space their loss has left behind.
B. ““It’s just his mood,” she once said. “He is just depressed.” She seemed to think that my father was depressed because of the Emperor’s illness. I could not agree with her”…“ When the newspaper announcing the Emperor’s Death arrived, my father said: “Oh! Oh!” And then “Oh. His Majesty is gone at last. I too…” My father fell silent” (Soseki 91).
1. The student’s father was most likely born into the Meiji era and most likely with the similarities between his own sickness and the Emperor’s he has built a bond in his mind, through with their fates appear parallel. This bond is apparent to even the student’s mother who believes that her husband is depressed because of the Emperor. Due to this bond the father has created in his mind he feels that when the Emperor died that it is he who should be next and he comes close to expressing that, when he falls silent to how tender the subject of his own death is to his
family.
C. Through the illusion of death the characters who otherwise would not share a bond due to their specific relationships, or lack thereof, are linked through death.

IV. In light of joyous occasions the motif of death if used to “ground” the reader to the story
A. “Seishu’s sister had her throat choked by the hematoma and died quietly, without a voice, one month before his glorious triumph. She was forty-two and remained lucid until the end” (167 Ariyoshi).
1. Seishu finally has come within arm’s reach of his goal, this should be a happy and joyous moment, but Seishu’s sister is choked to death her illness. This event creates a drastic change in the mood when one thinks of how Seishu is so close to curing the other woman of her cancer, but his own kin he is helpless and can do nothing but watch her wither away and die.
B. “ But that night, K killed himself. Even now, I cannot recall the scene without horror. I do not know what strange forces were at work that night….” (Soseki 228).
1. Sensei is engaged to be married to Ojusan and even though this a bit of a sore subject due to K, he is finally going to confront K about it which should lift the mood with the fact that Sensei is going to take responsibility for his actions, but before Sensei can talk to him K kills himself that night, destroying all hope of them fixing their problems.
C. Joyous occasion created in the story are quickly dashed by the somber mood associated with the death of a character. This shows how the authir seems determined to carry the somber mood throughout the book even during the joyous moments.

V.
Through the recurring motif of death the author creates a somber mood A. The in The Doctor’s Wife is to contrast the climax or resolution of the book where Seishu performs the first successful breast cancer surgery. Through the motif of death the author creates a conflict as clear as night and day to amplify the resolution. 1. The reader is kept on a constant roller coaster with the deaths throughout the book and the distant tone the author uses throught the third person point of view that is used. The distant tone makes the story seem more like the work of fiction it is and down plays the historical aspect of the book. B. The purpose of Kokoro to tell of a tragic fictional story of a misanthropic natured man. Using the first person 1. The reader of the book often feel that they can relate to both the character of the student and of Sensei. The student is young and naïve he often only thinks inwardly, he feel doesn’t realize his negate attitude that he has with his father until it is too late. The author can also relate to the character of Sensei because Sensei is a loner character which is emphasized in the first person point of
view.