Sex and Sexual Assault in Norwegian Wood - Peter

It was interesting to read the mixed responses Norwegian Wood elicited in the class. I can definitely sympathize with the complaint that Murakami’s style seems repetitive and ‘too much’ at times. I especially felt like this with the sex scenes. Many of the same phrases are used and the premise is often the same (also, Reiko and the 13-year-old girl was an excruciating read). Yet, counterintuitively, I feel like these scenes with hyper-sexualized female characters allow them more agency than elsewhere throughout the book. A good example of this is during Boku’s first visit to the sanatorium when Naoko silently reveals her naked body to him without it leading to anything sexual. This very much felt like a reclamation of control after their previous sexual encounter where she had little if any control.

Sexual assault was mentioned at times and the way the novel treats this topic felt strange, and kind of uncomfortable at times. Before they all go to sleep at the sanatarium, Reiko jokes that Boku will (not) rape them at night (this could be a possible reference to when Boku and Naoko had sex; another clue that it might not have been 100% consensual, it was also right before Naoko was hospitalized) and later Midori makes a similar joke about Boku and rape. This made me question whether Boku is a reliable narrator when it comes to his sexual encounters with women. He always seems removed and respectful but then the occasional comment from other characters will make the reader question. Also, in Reiko’s retelling, her 13-year-old student sexually assaulted her, not the other way around (questionable). Either way, the lines are definitely blurred when it comes to rape or even consensual sex in this book.

Sex serves both as a way to connect in the novel but also as a way to assert individuality (e.g. Midori who, as the quintessential Murakami manic pixie dream girl, expresses herself and connects with others around her by making eccentric and lewd statements). I think sex also serves as a tool in Murakami’s larger project of deconstructing relationships by shedding conventional labels. “Friends,” “boyfriend-girlfriend,” “student-teacher,” or “doctor-patient” all lose their distinctions and bleed into each other. Sex or talk of sex is often used as a way to break through these socially constructed barriers and examine human connection more holistically.