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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in If on a winter’s night a traveler, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Act of Reading
Academia and Publishing
Censorship and Government Oppression
Love, Lust, and Anxiety
Summary
Analysis
Yellow ginkgo leaves fall from the trees as the narrator and Mr. Okeda walk along a path. The narrator talks about the beauty of the leaves, but Mr. Okeda is more reserved and hesitant to commit to statements. The narrator has been living with the Okedas and has just started noticing the grace of their youngest daughter, Makiko.
Once again, a story fragment revolves around a male narrator who notices women at a distance. The premise of a young man living with another family also recalls Outside the town of Malbork. This narrator demonstrates enthusiasm for beauty, whether it’s the leaves or Makiko, and his tendency to mix up different types of beauty will cause problems for him in this story.
Themes
One day, the narrator is strolling along the river with Mr. Okeda, Makiko, and Madame Miyagi (Makiko’s mother). The narrator has noticed that Madame Miyagi and Mr. Okeda seem to have a tense relationship. At one point, the narrator stoops down to grab a water lily. Makiko and Madame Miyagi bend down next to him, and the narrator feels the left nipple of Makiko and the right nipple of Miyagi. The narrator tries to move to pretend to accidentally squeeze Makiko, but instead his hand finds the lap of Miyagi, who seems to welcome him.
This passage depicts the narrator as literally caught between Madame Miyagi and Makiko. Makiko seems to represent the “correct” choice for the narrator, because she is young, graceful, and innocent. But when the narrator reaches for her, he instead finds Madame Miyagi (perhaps as a punishment for his attempts to be sneaky). The contrast between Makiko and Miyagi seems to parallel the contrast between Ludmilla and Lotaria, with Ludmilla also representing a more innocent way of looking at the world and Lotaria representing jaded experience.
Themes
Over the next few days, the narrator ends up spending more time alone with Makiko and Madame Miyagi, as Mr. Okeda does research in the library that the narrator was originally supposed to do, while the narrator rearranges file cards for him. The narrator gets bored of the work and often seeks out Makiko or Madame Miyagi.
This passage makes it clear that either Mr. Okeda has a low opinion of the narrator or Mr. Okeda is the type of person who doesn’t easily trust others. Indeed, Mr. Okeda is probably smart not to trust the narrator, given how the narrator tried to secretly grope Makiko, but the irony is that by giving the narrator fewer responsibilities, Mr. Okeda gives the narrator more opportunities to see Makiko and Madame Miyagi.
Themes
One November day, the narrator attempts to make plans with Makiko to meet up in the evening. But as they’re making plans, the narrator begins to speak in a way that makes him sound too aroused, and it frightens Makiko away. The narrator goes into the next room, where he finds Madame Miyagi arranging flowers, and she happens to notice that he has an erection. She takes his penis and pulls it out of his clothes.
This passage is one of several in the novel where a man attempts to flirt and instead seems to frighten a woman away. This passage takes the narrator’s failure to communicate to the extreme, showing how after his apparent rejection by Makiko, he stumbles almost accidentally into a sexual situation with Madame Miyagi. Like many characters in the story, the narrator seems to be driven by destiny and unable to avoid Miyagi.
Themes
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Makiko changed clothes for the narrator, but all of a sudden, she walks in on Madame Miyagi still holding the narrator. The narrator calls out to her, wanting to explain that he only ended up in this position with Madame Miyagi by accident. But Madame Miyagi pulls the narrator down, wrapping her legs around him and encouraging him to penetrate her. In the middle of this, the narrator suddenly realizes that Mr. Okeda is watching, focusing not on him and Madame Miyagi but on Makiko watching him and Madame Miyagi.
This passage reveals that the narrator could have potentially formed a relationship with Makiko, but his inability to control his own lust for Madame Miyagi ruined this possibility. As a silent observer, Mr. Okeda is like a reader, getting more invested in the drama of how Makiko feels than he is by the narrator’s betrayal of his trust.
Themes
Eventually, the narrator realizes that Mr. Okeda has no intention to interrupt and that he just wants to pretend like what he saw didn’t happen. The narrator feels he’s in a complicated situation because Makiko has assumed he is Madame Miyagi’s lover, while Madame Miyagi has gotten the idea that the narrator actually loves Makiko. The narrator moans Makiko’s name in Madame Miyagi’s ear, thinking of the falling ginkgo leaves.
The ending of this story fragment ties all the different types of beauty together, melding Makiko, Madame Miyagi, and the ginkgo leaves into one. By trying to have everything, the narrator ends up with nothing, illustrating the consequences of following lust.
Themes
