Change in the Mediator

We spoke about it class briefly, and I wanted to explore the idea more fully. The idea arose that in terms of the increased eroticism and explicit sexuality that occurred later on in the book that Toru became a sort of mirror through which each character mediated or navigated their own psychic issues via sexuality. For me this was an intriguing idea that I found very justified, but, to an extent, it clashes with my view that Reiko is the mediator and guide, particularly to the realm of the dead.

I think both views have merit, and I'm going to try and synthesize them. This book, more than any of the other Murakami stories we have read deals with relationships and mediation. I think the psycho-sexual component is clearly present, as nearly every character has some sexual 'quirk' and psychological issue we can relate it to (I quote to emphasize the arbitrary nature of normative values).

As Reiko points out shortly after being introduced, she often gets confused whether she is staff or patient herself. If we extend this to all the characters, they are all both mediators and mediated. It is through the relationships and sex that determines whether the characters are able to move forward or not. Note that the only person who Toru completely cuts off by the end is Nagasawa who writes it all off as meaningless, a value Toru seems to espouse but ultimately does not go along with, partly perhaps due to Hatsumi's criticism of it, finding a certain resolution with his relationship with Naoko by having sex with Reiko in Naoko's clothing, so that she becomes a proxy. Likewise, Naoko is able to resolve the situation in a sense by conferring to Toru, through Reiko, that it wasn't his fault or anything he did wrong. And it would seem that some of Reiko's own issues are resolved through the ordeal. Certainly, we could say that Naoko was initially attempting to come to terms with Kizuki's death via her relationship with Toru, earlier in the book.