Naomi, by Junichiro Tanizaki

"I'm going to try to relate the facts of our relationship as man and wife just as they happened, as honestly and frankly as I can. It's probably a relationship without precedent." With this alluring first line begins Junichiro Tanizaki's novel, Naomi. Set in Japan in the 1920s, this novel speaks to the freeing of Japanese women to adopt elements of a Western lifestyle such as living independently, working, and choosing their own partners. It is the story of Joji, a man in his late 20s with a solid job, who meets a 15-year-old girl who works in a cafe. Intrigued by her Western name and features, Joji indulges her every whim and eventually marries her. Although the story has been compared to Pygmalion, Naomi is unlike Eliza Doolittle in that she becomes a study in self-absorption.

The "parenting" style of Joji that results in a spoiled and defiant Naomi is an interesting counterpoint to 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child, by Jeffrey Bernstein. In this book (review to appear soon), parenting strategies are used to lessen defiance in children. Reading Naomi through the lens of this book is like watching a canoe approach the rapids.

Unfortunately, Joji's fascination with Naomi overrides his common sense and self esteem so in the end, she becomes a monster and he her willing enabler. Naomi is studied in college East Asian Civilization college classes as "a novel of Taisho Era decadence" and as a microcosm of the modernization of the Japanese woman. It is also possible to read Naomi as a love story gone horribly wrong. (In the latter sense, I feel both sorry for and indignant with Joji for not influencing a different outcome!) The first several pages of Naomi are available at a Johns Hopkins University site.