The Strange Library-- Joycean parallels within Murakami (Bruce)

When we discussed "Ghosts of Lexington" and "Chance Traveler" in class, I brought up the notable figure of the gay piano tuner, which was present in both stories to varying relevance (I will refer to both characters, Jeremy and Murakami's Friend, as a single figure). Specifically, I compared the figure of the gay piano tuner to the blind piano tuner in Ulysses, as both figures apparently share a profession at which they excel. Furthermore, they both face social stigma as their sexuality and disability respectively are often seen as the core of their character, rather than their abilities. In relation to the authors as well as their autobiographical stand-ins, the blind piano tuner prompts Stephen Dedalus to imagine his life were he to be blinded. This is in relation to his famous phrase, "the ineluctable modality of the visible," taken to mean the protean and subjective nature of reality, and that the act of taking away sight could in turn provide insight to a more truthful view. In a similar vein, Boku, Murakami's Stephen, has been asked if he might be gay in other works such as The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Importantly, he never flat out denies it, as if he doesn't want to rule out that possibility. A recurring theme in Murakami's novels, and perhaps Japanese media in general, is the contrast between physical lust and love (famously, there are many ways to say "love" in Japanese, each with their own connotations). Homosexual love, in contrast to heterosexual relationships, is quite often depicted in a pure manner. In Japanese pop-culture, niche genres such as yuri and BL are centered around homosexual relationships between women and men respectively, and are known to focus on the emotional and psychosocial aspects of homosexuality rather than the physicality. In Murakami, homosexual characters are often capable of maintaining stable relationships for much longer than the heterosexual Boku. Perhaps the piano tuner is Murakami's way of viewing love in a more truthful way, by stripping away the biological aspect of lust, much like Joyce strips away the biological aspect of sight, to focus more on the psychological and emotional aspects. 

Of course, my comparison was brought up due to the strange choice in profession in both cases (piano tuners aren't exactly as common place as an office worker), but flaws exist in my interpretation as Murakami has clearly depicted physical relationships between two people of the same sex, such as in Norwegian Wood and Sputnik Sweetheart, and one piano tuner does not a solid connection make. 

However, in "The Strange Library", many more Joycean parallels appear-- too many for me to discount the possibility of a real connection between Murakami and Joyce. I will list them out categorically:

"The ineluctable modality of the visible" 

The blind dolphin- in my opinion a clear reference to Proteus, the chapter in which Stephen utters the phrase. This feels connected especially in the context of blindness, which I have described above. Proteus is a shape shifting god of the ocean, often taking shape of sea creatures (including dolphins, one can assume). Furthermore, Proteus is referred to as the old man of the sea, and the sea's shepherd. A very strong parallel can be drawn between Proteus and the Old Man in the story. 

The Starling says something about each person having their own world, very similar in meaning to Stephen's phrase.

Birds and The Bird Girl

We have spoken in length about birds and their significance in Murakami's writing. From a reference to Kafka to the signal of the narrator travelling between worlds, birds are a versatile and indispensable symbol in Murakami canon that needs no further explanation. Birds play a major role in Joycean literature as well, specifically in reference to the Icarus myth. However, none is so prevalent as much as the Bird Girl in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Stephen's family had fallen into financial ruin and his father, a deadbeat, fails to provide for his family. Stephen is then faced with the burden of choosing a profession to provide for his mother and siblings, medicine, which is in contrast to his own dreams of being a novelist and artist, all the while terrified of becoming like his father. This internal conflict leaves him increasingly unhappy, until in the tail end of Chapter IV whereby he chances upon a beautiful girl in a stream, which induces an epiphany in him, leading to his decision to follow his dreams (very abridged description). He compares multiple features of the girl to birds, which is how she received her colloquial name (by the way, she was wearing a blue skirt. Familiar?). In context of Stephen/Joyce's view on the author as God, and the novel God's creation (the characters in God's autobiographical image), we can interpret this moment as Stephen shifting into a new world, one of artistry and creation, one that surpasses the quotidian, much like Boku in Murakami's works (re: my blog post on Descartes and "Where I'm Likely to Find It"). I had found this parallel to be particularly compelling, but what really cemented this connection is the final sentence of Chapter IV of Portrait: 

"Evening had fallen. A rim of the young moon cleft the pale waste of skyline, the rim of a silver hoop embedded in grey sand; and the tide was flowing in fast to the land with a low whisper of her waves, islanding a few last figures in distant pools."

"The young moon..." Before rereading this passage, I had wondered what the new moon had symbolized in "The Strange Library." I am now no longer wondering. 

Miscellaneous observations

Here are some other parallels I noticed that were not as in-depth, but equally compelling:
- Boku must escape from a labyrinth-- parallels to Daedalus, a central figure in Joycean canon. 
- Boku escapes with the Sheep Man-- Odysseus escapes Polyphemus' cave by hanging on to the belly of sheep. Polyphemus is the son of the ocean god Poseidon, and is blinded, which is an alternate interpretation of the blind dolphin. Also, Odysseus calls himself Nobody, and many of Murakami's characters are nameless.
- Boku is able to change into a different person (the Ottoman tax collector), once again protean.
- Boku's return home is bittersweet as his mother died not shortly after, very similar to Odysseus' return to Ithaca.

General observations

General similarities between Joyce and Murakami:
- Stream of consciousness and inner monologue in adherence to modernist prose
- Semi-autobiographical
- Appreciation of music among other media besides literature
        - They both often named works after works of other media by artists they respect. In Joyce's case:
                -Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Rembrandt (etching) 
                -Ulysses - Tennyson/Homer (both poems)
- Alternative masculinity- both authors wrote male characters that did not adhere to traditional masculinity. Both Boku and Stephen are well-read, intelligent figures that are financially somewhat comfortable but they do not earn a steady living as they are underachievers in their respective field. Leopold Bloom (the Odysseus to Stephen's Telemachus) is similarly effeminate and laid back. In the context that The Odyssey was a handbook to morally correct behavior and values in young men back in classical era Greece, these novels expand the idea of masculinity for a generation of young men that may not identify with traditional masculine values.
- Sex and Love - Both Stephen and Boku (Toru in Norwegian Wood as well) engage in frequent casual sex with prostitutes or in general, people they do not love. Leopold Bloom's wife, Molly, is having an affair on him, which is a common occurrence in Murakami's writing.