Tough The Characterization of Komako
24 something that can help her enjoy life. In writing the diary, she does not only
write about what happened in her life but also writes about her opinion about literary works. It shows that she is smart and open-minded. Although she lives in
a country area, she still spends a little bit of her time by reading magazine or literary works. After reading those literary works, she tries to give her opinion or
comment on what she thinks happened in the story. She can understand the story and comprehend it by relating the characters.
“You write down your criticisms, do you? I could never do anything like that. I just write down the author and the characters and how they are related to
each other. That is about all.”
Shimamura asks her about her purpose of writing about the criticisms of literary works. Shimamura asks whether it is useful for her or not because he
thinks that what she has done is useless. Komako knows about it and agrees with Shimamura’s opinion that it is a waste effort. Although she says that it is no use, it
shows that she can think well than the other people around her. It implies that she understand about life. “But what good does it do? … A complete waste effort,”
she answered brightly, as though the admission meant little to her. p.41
Komako has been living alone since she was sixteen when she was in Tokyo. When she comes to Snow Country, she is alone. When she meets people
who she really feels comfortable, she can reveal her burden. It looks that she is different with her usual activity. She can be another people whom she wants to be.
She talked on feverishly, as though she had been starved for someone who would listen to her, and presently began to show an ease and abandon that
revealed her to be at heart a woman of the pleasure quarters after all. And she seemed in general to know what there was to know about men. p.19
25 She talked happily too of movies and plays she had never seen. She had no
doubt been starved all these months for someone who would listen to her. Had she forgotten that a hundred and ninety-nine days earlier exactly this sort
conversation had set off the impulse to throw herself to Shimamura? Again she lost herself in the talk, and again her words seemed to be warming her
whole body. p.42
It can be concluded that she is an introvert. She cannot tell anything with someone whom she does not believe in because of her past life. She keeps it to
herself and she will tell it only when she finds the right person. Those mannerisms also prove that she is introvert.