Many things come to mind when I ask myself why does Kiyoshi believe Obaban is a substitute for his mother. First of all she is the eldest in the family. Wisdom is associated with age. I think Kiyoshi looks up to Obaban because she treated his mother with respect when many people treated her like "dirt." His mother thinks that she is being punished for someone else's substitute. He thinks that when Obaban has a stroke his mother has found another substitute and his mother has been freed. His mother even believes that Obaban is a substitute. When she says "I'm so glad you went to get Obaban. We must've both known, something must've told us we wouldn't see her again. It would've been too much if she too died without my seeing her. Thank you, thank you." I think that this quote is such a large part of this chapter because it shows that his mother loves his children. She appreciates Kiyoshi and him bringing Obaban because she knows that Obaban was her substitute.
I think that when Kiyoshi first hears about Obaban's death he is somewhat happy because he knows that his mother is going to heal. He is young, scared, and can't even imagine going through his young years without his mother. I think that Obaban helped give his Mother some assurance that someone really loves her and is there for her. I am really interested into finding out more about this book. Like I said before I am completely interested into Japanese culture.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYour post highlights the relationship between Mrs. Oyama and Kiyoshi. He's still very young, but he takes responsibility, literally, for his mother's life. He's the one who finds the substitute for his mother. I found it interesting that Mr. Oyama doesn't seem to have the same fear and anxiety over her illness.
Thanks for giving me more to think about.
Take care,
Lauren
I agree with you. Kiyoshi and his mother both believed that Obaban was Kiyoshi's mother substitute. I think that in their culture they believe of substitutes and that substitutes take your place when you are about to die. When Obaban died, that just confirmed their thoughts on Obaban being a substitute.
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteI answered the same question and we cover more or less the same points. Obaban became the substitute for Kiyoshi's mother. We can clearly see this and it becomes even more apparent when Obaban suffers a stroke and passes away. This shows just how much Obaban cared for Kiyoshi's mother.
She was willing to sacrifice her well being so that someone that she cared about could heal. She was more interested in Kiyoshi's mother's recovery than in her own life. Maybe she came to the conclusion that she had already led a long life. This would be an understandable conclusion. Regardless, it was still a very generous thing for her to do.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that Obaban was Kiyoshi's mothers substitute. She had lived a very long life and his mother was very young at the time to leave the world so it only made sense that Obaban took her place. If I were to be in Kiyoshi's shoes, I would have also wished for the same thing and would have possibly reacted the same way when he got the news of Obaban. Now that we know that Obaban had passed, it's not like Kiyoshi's mother had healed instantly. We would have to see in the next few chapters if she had truly healed or if this was just a silly superstition.
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