Wenzhuo Fei's Post

Ice man:

After I finished reading this story, I think it can be read as an allegory of a woman gradually losing her autonomy within marriage. Which after the mariage, the Ice Man remains himself, he aave a job, have a social identity, and even more comfortable after arriving in Antarctica. While the narrator gradually disconnected from family and friends, being home alone, and after arriving in Antarctica, she don’t know the local language, finally losing the sense of "who I am".

The Straw Husband:

I think the theme of this article may be projection onto partner. Tomoko initially sees her husband as gentle, positive, and understanding. However he doesn't even have real facial features, which all the "expressions" she sees are just shadows on the straw. So I feel like the the article is asking "do we love the real person, or the image we create of them?". Which After the actual conflict, Tomoko discovered that there was a world inside her husband that she did not understand at all. Which the husband she imagine might be the outside straw shell, but not the inside "musical instrument".

Dōjōji:

I may not understand the deeper meaning, but I think it may be discussing how excessive desire and obsession will bring pain and ultimately destroy oneself and others.

Smartening Up:

I think this theme might be the social standard of female beauty, which the narrator believes that the reason for breaking up with her boyfriend is because she is "not pretty enough", so she constantly modifies her body to try to reach the social standard of female beauty and turning anger inward. And I think the body hair may be the most important symbol, which hair represents wildness or uncontrolled self, so hair removal represents the elimination of parts that do not conform to the social standard of female beauty, and finally, the barrator becoming hairy all over body represents the reappearance of repressed self and anger. And by the way this article related to the Dōjōji.

Yaoya Oshichi:

I also think there might be deeper meaning but I did not fint out, but I feel like this story is talking about private desire and social order. Which when private desire is incompatible with these social orders, people may only suppress desires or break through the order. Which Oshichi choose to break through the order, which she committed crime and eventually turn to death, while Kichisaburo choose to suppress desires so he choose to become a monk.

Silently Burning:

I think this story might about modern adults' repression of desire. Even if modern adults love someone very much, they cannot act completely according to passion like Oshichi. So Passion still exists, but it has to be controlled. Which the three category of visitors represents the women who suppressed and controlled passion in modern society. The mystery woman who was mentioned in the news that stole bones from a research facility might represents the type of woman who is driven by certain desires and does things that ordinary people cannot understand, like Oshichi. At last, the narrator is actually a "burning" person. She has always thought of herself as having no wishes and no "obsessive personality." But she actually has this passion or "fire" for calligraphy. Therefore, there is actually no essential difference between her and the women who worship Oshichi. The only difference lies in the way of passion.