The novel has been criticised as one that exploited female homosexuality and feeding the male gaze.[3] Others have commented on the wave of sorrow and loneliness that veils the novel,[6][5] and that, despite this not being his best nor richest work, Beauty and Sadness managed to provoke the mind[2] and that it takes an observant eye to truly recognise and comprehend the admiration this novel truly deserved.[7]
Oki's character was thought by some critics to be a vessel that depicted Kawabata's own pondering about the flow of time and memory,[5] in which he created a literary piece that was not bound by the time's flow but rather created a dimension between realism and abstractionism.[8] The characters were described in different perspectives yet with the same fate[8] in which they were unable to control by their own hands, except for Keiko.[7] The novel also centered around the themes of innocent and youth that was fleeting and impermanent.[6] The characters desired for that passionate happiness to stay forever, which Oki expressed through his novel immortalising his passion for the 16-year old Otoko, and Otoko through the desire to die with her lover to preserve her momentary state of happiness.[5]
