Themes In Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country

Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country (1956) is a Japanese novel based on the sense of loss, entrapment and the complexity of human emotions. In the novel, the author uses the omniscient third person, highlighting the male protagonist, Shimamura’s point of view. This narrative technique is one of the primary methods used to convey the themes of wasted beauty, isolation, unfulfilled love and transience, by being of a “stream of consciousness” nature. This narrative mode takes the form of an interior monologue within the character, reflecting the immediate occurrence of ideas in his mind and highlighting his thought process. The reader witnesses very little change in the setting of the novel, as all significant parts take place amidst the small

We see Shimamura sympathizing for Komako in several instances in the flashback in the first part, one when he calls for another geisha, where he knows “he was only parading his masculine shamelessness,” (21), and that “he had deceived her too easily.” (23). These lines show how Shimamura is, subconsciously through his relationship with Komako, undergoing a self-realization where he is slowly exposing himself. He is showing a vulnerable side of himself that can only be brought out by Komako. This is because Shimamura knows that, deep inside, he doesn’t only have a desire for Komako, but also a desire to be able to love her. This idea is carried forward in the scene where Komako appears at Shimamura’s room in a drunken state. The two experience a brief, while deep, connection and Shimamura exposes himself fully to Komako. When the narrator says that “The delicious swelling under Shimamura’s hand grew warmer.” (35), the reader sees how the attraction and warmth Shimamura feels is undeniable, and he is therefore, in a way, forced to allow himself to soften to Komako. However, the fact that Shimamura does this only when Komako is not in a sober state of mind reflects that he himself is probably not comfortable with the idea of letting his emotions and his indisputable attachment to Komako be exposed. He can only allow that when Komako cannot fully grasp and understand

This shows the newfound maturity of his character, from carefree to suddenly considerate, and makes the cautious decision that “The time had come to leave.” (155). In the final scene of the novel, when the warehouse catches fire, Shimamura experiences something of a spiritual awakening, leaving his character enigmatic. Amidst the chaos of the fire he feels the Milky Way “[coming] down…to wrap the night earth in its naked embrace.” (165). This image represents the realization that the tragedy of Komako and Yoko in his mind is so insignificant to the galaxy, and so is he himself. This is shown when the author writes, “Shimamura fancied that his own small shadow was being cast up against [the Milky Way] from the earth.”