How do We Treat Mr. Miwa? - Jane Maberry

Remembering Miwa


    How does the memory of Miwa affect the rest of the characters, especially his friends versus his wife? We never actually get to see him as a person, and I think that that is the most important aspect of his character. The assessment of his character is only told through the lens of others, so we are left with a rather favorable impression of him from both sides. His friends may have been jealous of him for marrying Akiko, but they still hold him in such high esteem. He also seems to have been the optimist and motivator of the group. Even though he might be particularly fresh on their minds due to their plot to marry off both Akiko and Ayako, I get the impression that he comes up often whenever they meet because he was such a presence in their group. So overall, from the viewpoint of his friends he was a kind, active man who was a great friend, and even deserved to marry Akiko over them. From the viewpoint of Akiko, he was much the same, but with the added element that they may have been in love. But that doesn't matter as much in the context of what's happening currently in the story, because we are only getting thoughts in hindsight. Their marriage may have troubles, but any caring in it is going to far outshine the former when remembering him. 

    However good of a person he was when he was alive, I think that our perspective of him hinges on his death. He may have had worse traits that were present that just never get brought up, because when people reminisce about someone they have lost, they tend to look at only the good aspects. Even the bad is often seen through rose tinted glasses. He just feels so elevated beyond his friends in terms of moral character, and anyone who might be a partner for Akiko.  So perhaps it doesn't matter as much how he was when he was alive, because there's something about the nostalgia of him that's so appealing. Of course all the characters seemed to genuinely love him as a husband, father, and friend, but all of tis would not have happened were he not gone. And so, every decision is filtered through the thought of whether he would approve. 

Although, because he is held so highly by the others, it may be this ideal that helps to urge his friends to get Akiko married. They can think, 'no one can measure up to him, so it might as well be one of us'. Acknowledging themselves as lesser just frees them up feel more comfortable with maneuvering Akiko and Ayako. Marrying Akiko was never taken as seriously as it should have been, because of Mamiya and Taguchi's infatuation with her. Honoring him is probably just a good excuse. I wonder if, after college, part of the allure of her was that he was with Miwa, a friend who seemed so much better than them. 

Comments

  1. Kai EnglischDecember 19, 2021 at 10:51 PM

    These reflections are thought provoking. One question for me, is it Miwa or Akiko who is elevated in the eyes of their friends, by their marriage to the other? on the one hand, the way they treat Miwa's memory is with reverence. On the other hand, the way they used to "simp" for Akiko suggests that a possible interpretation is that Miwa was exalted in their eyes because of his marriage to Akiko, the object of all their desires. in any case though, I agree that his death makes him more alluring as a character. We never really get much of Akiko's story with him, the main focus is on her as an object.

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  2. Krishnan VenkateshDecember 27, 2021 at 1:58 PM

    Great points, both of you. I incline to the view that both elevated each other, and also that their elevation in the friends' eyes also gave rise to an elevated ideal of marriage -- such that the Akiko-Miwa marriage, and the prospective Ayako marriage, compensate for their imperfect marriages.

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