Thirst for Love (or 愛の渇き, Ai no Kawaki) is a 1950 novel by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. The word "kawaki" literally means thirst, but has a sense of parched dryness associated with it.
First edition (Japanese)
Thirst for Love is Mishima's third novel, following the immensely successful Confessions of a Mask (1949). Unlike the coming of age of a male narrator in Confessions, Mishima may have deliberately moved to a woman protagonist and a third person narrative. Donald Keene says of Thirst for Love that it is "a youthful work, but one of Mishima's best".[1]
The novel centers on the experience of Etsuko, a woman who has moved into the house of her in-laws following the death of her husband Ryosuke from typhoid. There she falls into a physical relationship with her father-in-law (Yakichi) which both repulses and numbs her. She comes to develop romantic feelings for the young gardener Saburo, who is oblivious of her interest, and turns out to be having an affair with the maid Miyo.
The story develops over a period of just over a month, from September 22, when the book opens with her buying two pairs of socks as a gift for Saburo, to October 28, 1949, when the story reaches its violent climax. The narrative progresses through a series of flashbacks, and intense, stream of consciousness reflections, focusing on Etsuko's obsession, which she attempts to hide in the beginning, but which reveals itself as it gradually spins out of control.
At times lyrical, the novel is starkly drawn, with dark brooding scenes interspersed with bright sunbursts. The text is particularly notable for its sharp and radical observations, as in: "Etsuko was a beautiful eczema. At Yakichi's age, he couldn't itch without eczema." (p. 134). The writing is interlaced with asides reflecting a dark brooding focus, as in the child taking pleasure after drowning a colony of ants in boiling water, or in mutilated rose petals lying face down in rainwater. These dark moments, as in much of Mishima's writings, tend to bring the reader to a foreboding of impending tragedy.
Themes
The novel deals with themes which are prevalent throughout many of Mishima's other works, including unrequited sexual longing and the desire to inflict pain upon the object of one's love. Some have suggested a streak of narcissistic revenge arising from a pre-Oedipal complex running through this and several other Mishima texts.[2]
Translations and film
Thirst for Love was translated into English by Alfred H. Marks (Alfred A. Knopf, 1969). On November 25, 1970, Mishima committed suicide. A paperback edition was released July 1971 from Berkley Books.
^Mishima, Yukio/ tr. Alfred H. Marks (1971) [1969]. Thirst for Love. Alfred A. Knopf (cloth), Berkley Publishing (paperback). Introduction by Donald Keene.
^Jerry S. Piven (2004). The Madness and Perversion of Yukio Mishima. Praeger/Greenwood. Chapter 2.
^Goble, Alan, ed. (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. London: Bowker-Saur. p. 328. ISBN1-85739-229-9.
January 23, 2023
thirst, love, 愛の渇き, kawaki, 1950, novel, japanese, writer, yukio, mishima, word, kawaki, literally, means, thirst, sense, parched, dryness, associated, with, first, edition, japanese, mishima, third, novel, following, immensely, successful, confessions, mask, . Thirst for Love or 愛の渇き Ai no Kawaki is a 1950 novel by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima The word kawaki literally means thirst but has a sense of parched dryness associated with it First edition Japanese Thirst for Love is Mishima s third novel following the immensely successful Confessions of a Mask 1949 Unlike the coming of age of a male narrator in Confessions Mishima may have deliberately moved to a woman protagonist and a third person narrative Donald Keene says of Thirst for Love that it is a youthful work but one of Mishima s best 1 The book was adapted into the 1967 film Thirst for Love Contents 1 Plot 2 Themes 3 Translations and film 4 ReferencesPlot EditThe novel centers on the experience of Etsuko a woman who has moved into the house of her in laws following the death of her husband Ryosuke from typhoid There she falls into a physical relationship with her father in law Yakichi which both repulses and numbs her She comes to develop romantic feelings for the young gardener Saburo who is oblivious of her interest and turns out to be having an affair with the maid Miyo The story develops over a period of just over a month from September 22 when the book opens with her buying two pairs of socks as a gift for Saburo to October 28 1949 when the story reaches its violent climax The narrative progresses through a series of flashbacks and intense stream of consciousness reflections focusing on Etsuko s obsession which she attempts to hide in the beginning but which reveals itself as it gradually spins out of control At times lyrical the novel is starkly drawn with dark brooding scenes interspersed with bright sunbursts The text is particularly notable for its sharp and radical observations as in Etsuko was a beautiful eczema At Yakichi s age he couldn t itch without eczema p 134 The writing is interlaced with asides reflecting a dark brooding focus as in the child taking pleasure after drowning a colony of ants in boiling water or in mutilated rose petals lying face down in rainwater These dark moments as in much of Mishima s writings tend to bring the reader to a foreboding of impending tragedy Themes EditThe novel deals with themes which are prevalent throughout many of Mishima s other works including unrequited sexual longing and the desire to inflict pain upon the object of one s love Some have suggested a streak of narcissistic revenge arising from a pre Oedipal complex running through this and several other Mishima texts 2 Translations and film EditThirst for Love was translated into English by Alfred H Marks Alfred A Knopf 1969 On November 25 1970 Mishima committed suicide A paperback edition was released July 1971 from Berkley Books Ai no Kawaki was made into a 1967 film with the same title directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara with Ruriko Asaoka playing Etsuko 3 References Edit Mishima Yukio tr Alfred H Marks 1971 1969 Thirst for Love Alfred A Knopf cloth Berkley Publishing paperback Introduction by Donald Keene Jerry S Piven 2004 The Madness and Perversion of Yukio Mishima Praeger Greenwood Chapter 2 Goble Alan ed 1999 The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film London Bowker Saur p 328 ISBN 1 85739 229 9 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thirst for Love amp oldid 1001260866, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
