The SOund of Waves reflection
I had anticipated that Mishima had wrote The Sound of Waves in the time period of Imperial Japan, and the events that occurred in this novel were situated around that time period. However, these presentations gave me the opportunity to explore exactly how Imperial Japan was like and how Yukio Mishima’s life impacted the novel. I realized that the author did not attempt to portray himself through the novel yet, his determination for creating a better Japanese society was shown throughout this novel. Japanese housewife. This shocked me, due to the fact that the women depicted in the novel seemed to be different than the regular housewife. Also, the role that Shinji’s mother played during the novel intrigued me. The fact that she woman in the island after her husband died and raised two children was not unnatural for me. Nonetheless, the presentations showed that it was particularly difficult to be a widow in Imperial Japan. I realized that widows had to respect their husband at all times, as symbolized by how Shinji’s mother always prayed to his father’s tablet, and play the role of both a wife and a husband, theoretically. Finally, the Yashiro Shrine played an important role in the novel. I was astonished to find out that this shrine symbolized peace and was one of the most acclaimed sites of the island, Thus, I recognized that it was the perfect setting for Mishima to start Shinji’s and Hatsue’s love and a perfect place to announce their engagement. That is when I had realized the background information behind this story and was able to understand it better.