My life might have been totally different if I hadn’t been born with this name. If I had an ordinary name like Sato or Tanaka or Suzuki, I could have lived a slightly more relaxed life or looked at people with somewhat more forgiving eyes.
Aomame had to witness the cruelty of the world early in her life. Not only did she grow up in a strict religious community, but had to live with an unusual name because of which she had to face the prejudice and scrutiny of people. Aomame translates to green peas, and people often made fun of her because of that fact. A simple thing like this, people mocking her name, made Aomame learn to be careful, not trust and look at people with unforgiving eyes, which forged her into becoming a strong and competent woman.
1Q84-that’s what I’ll call this new world, Aomame decided. Q is for “question mark.” A world that bears a question.
The first instance where the title of the novel comes up is also the explanation for it. Aomame realizes that the world she found herself in is not the world she came from. Not only are there two moons in the sky, but there are some important events that she seemingly missed. An allusion to Orwell’s famous work, which is mentioned in the novel as well, 1Q84 is a form of a parallel universe merged with magic and religious elements.
What did it mean for a person to be free? she would often ask herself. Even if you managed to escape from one cage, weren’t you just in another, larger one?
Aomame reflects on her childhood and life as a part of a restrictive religious community. As an adult, she notices herself following the same restrictive habits that she gained from that time. Escaping the prison of that community, she thought she would be free to enjoy everything that was forbidden to her, only to realize that those same things only bring painful memories of that life.
