Previous
Book 3, Chapter 14
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Reality and Subjective Experience
Free Will
Desire and Irrationality
The Personal Impact of War
Social Alienation
Summary
Analysis
May sends a third letter to Toru, expressing her satisfaction with her job at the wig factory and her popularity among the other girls, despite feeling like an outsider. She ponders the possibility of remaining a virgin indefinitely and confesses that she lacks clear goals for her future. While May acknowledges that she doesn't consider herself to be in a transitional phase, she contemplates whether her position at the wig factory will be her final destination. Despite stating that she is happy, May admits to experiencing moments of intense fear upon waking up.
Although this is the third letter May has sent to Toru, there is no indication he receives them. After all, in his sections they are never mentioned, and, as far as the reader knows, he does not write her back. This gives May’s letters an extra sense of tragedy and desperation, as the one person she reaches out to for comfort might not be there to provide it for her.
Themes
