An instinct for suicide
After Keiko’s suicide, one of the newspapers picks up the fact that Keiko is Japanese, which supposedly means that she is naturally predisposed to suicide. The irony is that there is no race with an inborn instinct for suicide. People all over the world may have different attitudes towards death, but normally people are not driven to it just because of cultural matters. Strangely enough, the newspaper is sure that “further explanations are unnecessary”, because the mere fact that she is “pure Japanese” clarifies everything.
Great plans
Etsuko wants to be a good mother and she does a lot for her daughters. However, some of her ideas concerning her daughters’ education and development don’t work in a way she expects. For instance, when Nikki asks her whether it is Etsuko’s idea getting her “to have lessons”. Etsuko says that she once “had greats plans” for them. The irony is that despite her great plans, none of her daughters wants to fulfill her dreams. Keiko commits suicide, while Nikki “just lives” in London.
Cultural matters
There is no much information about Etsuko’s second husband. The only thing a reader knows for sure that he is from England and he adores Japan. For instance, it is he who insists on giving Etsuko’s second daughter “a Japanese name”. The irony is that “despite all the impressive articles he wrote about Japan”, her second husband “has never understood the ways of our culture”.
