apologies in advance if this isn’t the kind of post meant for this channel, but I figured it to be a good enough place to ask.
I’m starting to read No Longer Human, and have made it to the ‘second notebook’ as it were, and stumbled upon this section:
spoiler
“…I have often felt that I would it find it more complicated, troublesome and unpleasant to ascertain the feelings by which a woman lives than to plumb the innermost thoughts of an earthworm.” and Yozo continues narrating about giving sweets when women break into hysterics.
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Is this just part of his personality, a way to reflect his alienation from society and etiquette in discussing and perceiving women, or is this maybe a reflection of the society that Dazai grew up in and experienced? I just find it hard to work out, especially since to me it felt like such a scattershot moment, not particularly connected to the feelings that (so far) Yozo has internally described feeling.