Some Prefer Nettles by Tanizaki Junichiro
translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker
My rating: ****0
At the core of Junichiro's slim novel, Some Prefer Nettles, is a marriage that is in the process of disintegrating. Rather than husband and wife, the two married people, Kaname and Misako, are "silhouettes pasted on paper." They are shadows, living puppets in a world that they feel little connection to. In spite of the lack of love between them, Kaname and Misako are plagued by indecision when it comes to ending their marriage. They have a son, Hiroshi, who is nearly ten. Although the parents convey their concern over the child's reaction to their impending divorce, we are never left feeling that anything is as important as their own feelings. The child seem to be an afterthought--a mere possession. Kanama and Misako see life through two vastly different vantage points. Though Misako is happily carrying on an affair with another man, Kaname is caught between old and new traditions. Misako displays a carefree, selfish attitude. She seems young and superficial, scarcely the sort of woman whom one would think could provide a stable environment for a young child. Kaname is a more sympathetic character, though even he is difficult to connect to. One thing the reader might have difficulty grasping during the early parts of this novel, is why the marriage between these two people must end. There are no scenes of passion, no fights or rows, and seemingly nothing that would make their situation unbearable. Yet, their marriage is dead, lifeless.
Kaname reflects:
"He had nothing against his wife. They simply did not excite each other. Everything else--their tastes, their ways of thinking--matched perfectly.
To him she was not 'female,' to her he was not 'male'--it was the consciousness of being husband and wife and yet not being husband and wife that caused the tension between them, and had they not been married they would probably have been excellent friends."
The psychological complexities that are inherent in this work are not visible to the naked eye. They must be discovered by the reader. Junichiro is a master of subtlety, and never more so than in Some Prefer Nettles. The satirical implications behind the facade of Kaname and Misako's marriage are there, but hard to find. The communication between the two of them seemed staged, and there is almost a stilted rhythm in their exchanges. When they go to a puppet theatre and engage in the rituals that take place there, it all seems to be part of an elaborate production. Indeed, Kaname and Misako's lives appear to be part of a production, of sorts. They circle continuously in a web of indecision, knowing they should part but not knowing how.
"They knew the divorce was the solution, yet neither had the courage to propose it, each was left face to face with his own weakness."
In different ways, Kaname and Misako are equally weak. They are both paralyzed by a sense of inertia, and inability to pursue the outcome that both of them know is necessary. But of the two, Kaname seems to have more difficulty accepting the idea of a complete break between them. He cannot quite let go. "We'll have to arrange," he tells Misako at one point, "so that we'll be drifting into a divorce and hardly knowing it."
It's more difficult to understand Kaname's vacillation when we get a glimpse into some of his more rational thoughts:
"It occurred to him.... that his wife had in a way already disappeared. The Misako he saw here--was she not an entirely new person? She had--who knows when? slipped free of her past and the destiny it carried with it."
Indeed, Misako has slipped free from him and into the arms of another man. She has made the psychological break that Kaname cannot manage. In spite of the complications that her decision to leave Kaname brings about, she is about to cut loose, while her husband resides in a castle of shadowy dreams and past memories. He does find something to preoccupy his thoughts in the character of his father-in-law's mistress, O-Hisa. But because he sees women as either goddesses or playthings, he is incapable of genuine love. His interest in O-Hisa is merely a fixation. As for O-Hisa, she is merely another puppet in the production--a doll
who fascinates but fails to hold the reader's interest.
Some Prefer Nettles lacks the bite of Quicksand. There is no raw energy or scintillating sexuality, nor is there a femme fatale to liven things up. This is a sedate little book, that may haunt you for a few days after reading it, but will probably be forgotten in two or three month's time. It is a book of images, of pictures, of feelings. There is a tangible aura of poignancy and sadness about it, but there's nothing concrete to hold onto. None of the characters are unforgettable, and, although the prose is beautiful, there are only a few passages of brilliance.
The book is set in 1920s Tokyo, and it was intended to explore the theme of cultural conflict, the clash between new and old. It is also a highly autobiographical work. In 1930, Tanizaki divorced his wife, whom he said no longer "interested" him. His wife married the poet and novelist Sato Haruo in what was a prior arrangement, conceived by Tanizaki himself.
Some Prefer Nettles was published in 1928.
~Titania
translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker
My rating: ****0
At the core of Junichiro's slim novel, Some Prefer Nettles, is a marriage that is in the process of disintegrating. Rather than husband and wife, the two married people, Kaname and Misako, are "silhouettes pasted on paper." They are shadows, living puppets in a world that they feel little connection to. In spite of the lack of love between them, Kaname and Misako are plagued by indecision when it comes to ending their marriage. They have a son, Hiroshi, who is nearly ten. Although the parents convey their concern over the child's reaction to their impending divorce, we are never left feeling that anything is as important as their own feelings. The child seem to be an afterthought--a mere possession. Kanama and Misako see life through two vastly different vantage points. Though Misako is happily carrying on an affair with another man, Kaname is caught between old and new traditions. Misako displays a carefree, selfish attitude. She seems young and superficial, scarcely the sort of woman whom one would think could provide a stable environment for a young child. Kaname is a more sympathetic character, though even he is difficult to connect to. One thing the reader might have difficulty grasping during the early parts of this novel, is why the marriage between these two people must end. There are no scenes of passion, no fights or rows, and seemingly nothing that would make their situation unbearable. Yet, their marriage is dead, lifeless.
Kaname reflects:
"He had nothing against his wife. They simply did not excite each other. Everything else--their tastes, their ways of thinking--matched perfectly.
To him she was not 'female,' to her he was not 'male'--it was the consciousness of being husband and wife and yet not being husband and wife that caused the tension between them, and had they not been married they would probably have been excellent friends."
The psychological complexities that are inherent in this work are not visible to the naked eye. They must be discovered by the reader. Junichiro is a master of subtlety, and never more so than in Some Prefer Nettles. The satirical implications behind the facade of Kaname and Misako's marriage are there, but hard to find. The communication between the two of them seemed staged, and there is almost a stilted rhythm in their exchanges. When they go to a puppet theatre and engage in the rituals that take place there, it all seems to be part of an elaborate production. Indeed, Kaname and Misako's lives appear to be part of a production, of sorts. They circle continuously in a web of indecision, knowing they should part but not knowing how.
"They knew the divorce was the solution, yet neither had the courage to propose it, each was left face to face with his own weakness."
In different ways, Kaname and Misako are equally weak. They are both paralyzed by a sense of inertia, and inability to pursue the outcome that both of them know is necessary. But of the two, Kaname seems to have more difficulty accepting the idea of a complete break between them. He cannot quite let go. "We'll have to arrange," he tells Misako at one point, "so that we'll be drifting into a divorce and hardly knowing it."
It's more difficult to understand Kaname's vacillation when we get a glimpse into some of his more rational thoughts:
"It occurred to him.... that his wife had in a way already disappeared. The Misako he saw here--was she not an entirely new person? She had--who knows when? slipped free of her past and the destiny it carried with it."
Indeed, Misako has slipped free from him and into the arms of another man. She has made the psychological break that Kaname cannot manage. In spite of the complications that her decision to leave Kaname brings about, she is about to cut loose, while her husband resides in a castle of shadowy dreams and past memories. He does find something to preoccupy his thoughts in the character of his father-in-law's mistress, O-Hisa. But because he sees women as either goddesses or playthings, he is incapable of genuine love. His interest in O-Hisa is merely a fixation. As for O-Hisa, she is merely another puppet in the production--a doll
who fascinates but fails to hold the reader's interest.
Some Prefer Nettles lacks the bite of Quicksand. There is no raw energy or scintillating sexuality, nor is there a femme fatale to liven things up. This is a sedate little book, that may haunt you for a few days after reading it, but will probably be forgotten in two or three month's time. It is a book of images, of pictures, of feelings. There is a tangible aura of poignancy and sadness about it, but there's nothing concrete to hold onto. None of the characters are unforgettable, and, although the prose is beautiful, there are only a few passages of brilliance.
The book is set in 1920s Tokyo, and it was intended to explore the theme of cultural conflict, the clash between new and old. It is also a highly autobiographical work. In 1930, Tanizaki divorced his wife, whom he said no longer "interested" him. His wife married the poet and novelist Sato Haruo in what was a prior arrangement, conceived by Tanizaki himself.
Some Prefer Nettles was published in 1928.
~Titania
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