Thesis: Kawabata uses the motif of windows and mirrors in relation to Shimamura infatuation with Yoko and Komako to highlight the fantasy derived from the Japanese patriarchal society that oppresses women into rigid gender roles to entertain the men who perpetuate it. Shimamura’s constant observation of Yoko through reflective surfaces highlights how young girls’ naivete is exploited to fit the male-dominated view of the oppressive society they live in. While Shimamura is on a train “into the snow country” (3), the train arrives “at a signal stop” (3) when “a girl … opened the window in front of Shimamura” (3). The word “girl” signifies that the human being opening the window is a young female, at this instance she is opening a window which serves as a separation between the inside of the …show more content…
He does not have to be present in the reality of Yoko’s situation with the ill “man with her” (6), in his mind, Shimamura can “cut the girl off from the man with her” (6) and pass “his judgment” (6). Kawabata stresses Shimamura’s privilege to emphasize how men in this Japanese society are allowed to dictate the role women play in the patriarchal world they live in. Shimamura is unaware that “it was improper to stare at the girl so long” (11) and Yoko is still unaware of Shimamura observing her as “her attention was concentrated on the sick man” (11), but even if she saw Shimamura “she would probably have not seen her reflection” (11). Yoko is not present to the fact that she is perpetuating her objectivity in this society, not only does she faithfully serve a man, she is unaware of her being fantasized and altered by Shimamura. He is “taken by the unreal, otherworldly power of his mirror” (11), Shimamura owns