Symbolism
"The Setting Sun" refers to how Japan, the "Land of the Rising Sun" was in a period of decline after World War II. In her last letter to Mr. Uehara, Kazuko says that Japan is struggling against the old morality, "like the sun".
Black Snake. The black snake, can be seen as a symbol of death. There was a snake present when her father died, and also a snake present when her mother died. Also, at their old house, there was a snake present, symbolizing the death of her family’s old life and the coming death of her mother.
Fire is a motif which appears throughout the novel, and it symbolizes many different things. When Kazuko unintentionally cause the fire right after she moves into the countryside, the fire represents the downfall of Kazuko's family, and that of Japanese aristocracy as a whole. Later, when Kazuko describes her feelings as "a bridge of flames" in her letter to Mr. Uehara, the symbol now represents Kazuko's strong, almost desperate, dependency on him.
Read more about this topic: The Setting Sun
Famous quotes containing the word symbolism:
“...I remembered the rose bush that had reached a thorny branch out through the ragged fence, and caught my dress, detaining me when I would have passed on. And again the symbolism of it all came over me. These memories and visions of the poor—they were the clutch of the thorns. Social workers have all felt it. It holds them to their work, because the thorns curve backward, and one cannot pull away.”
—Albion Fellows Bacon (1865–1933)