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Book 3, Chapter 27
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 writes a fifth letter to Toru, expressing her contemplations about the Miyawaki family. During her childhood, she recalls how the Miyawakis appeared to have a perfect life in their house, despite its unsettling reputation among the neighbors. Over time, she witnessed the house deteriorating and laments that the Miyawakis didn't take better care of it. May thinks it is important to acknowledge the memories and stories within the home’s walls. She wishes that the Miyawakis had understood this and treated their house with more care. Additionally, May says that sometimes she identifies with Kumiko because she has followed in her footsteps by running away from Toru.
In her discussion of the Miyawaki house, May implies that she does not believe the house is cursed. Rather, she thinks the people who lived there did not care for the house’s essence or their own. Although May does not know about Toru’s new job, there is an open question as to whether Toru and Nutmeg treat the house with the respect that May thinks it deserves. Additionally, May’s comparison of herself with Kumiko makes her yet another female character who acts as an alternate version of Toru’s wife.
Themes
