Murakami & Queer Symbolism Ramblings - Marisa

 I stated in class my opinions about Murakami and his…interesting depiction of queer characters, more specifically queer women. I thought the snippets we read from Sputnik Sweetheart with Sumire and Miu were particularly heartbreaking. However, rereading this excerpt, I came across a wee detail that I thought was intriguing, and I wonder whether it was intentional or not on the behalf of Murakami. 

As we know, Sumire appears to be the “true” lesbian in Sumire and Miu’s relationship, whereas Miu is a “false”/ unwilling (yet still very queercoded!) participant. In the beginning of one of the excerpts we read, Sumire talks about her name, and how her mother chose it from a Mozart song. She says as a child, “[she] didn't understand the lyrics, but from the graceful motif she felt sure the song was a paean to beautiful violets blooming in a field. Sumire loved that image.” (18) Later, when Sumire finds out the true meaning of the song, and that it in fact depicts a “callous shepherd's daughter trampling down a hapless little violet in a field”, she feels betrayed and disillusioned. (18) What struck me immediately about this detail is that violets have a powerful connection to both queer and specifically lesbian culture. They have served as a covert symbol/motif for lesbians dating all the way back to Sappho, who used them in her poems. Additionally, I really liked this snippet, from a University of Washington Botanic Gardens website:

“Violets as a symbol of sapphic love have appeared in many modern works. The 1927 Broadway play, “The Captive” by Édouard Bourdet follows two lesbian characters. As a romantic gesture, one sends a bouquet of violets to the other. This play led to such public uproar that protestors and police shut down the final performance in France. Soon after, the violet was associated with lesbianism and referred to as “the Lesbian flower”. Florists in the United States experienced a crash in violet sales during this time, but supporters of the play would wear violets pinned to their lapels.”

I feel like it is such an uncanny coincidence for the most explicitly lesbian character that we have seen in his works so far have such an explicit connection to violets. To me, this feels very intentional on the part of Murakami, and he did live in Massachusetts for a brief period of time, so maybe he was aware of the symbolism. However, this may all be grand speculation on my behalf! 😊💜

Source for excerpt: https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2021/12/21/queer-botany-the-sapphic-violet/