An Artist of the Floating World Read Free Page A

gets older. In her youth, her mother and I had worried that she was too plain to make a good marriage. Even as a child, Setsuko had rather masculine features, which seemed only to grow more pronounced with adolescence; so much so that whenever my daughters quarrelled, Noriko was always able to get the better of her elder sister by calling her "Boy! Boy!" Who knows what effect such things have on personalities? It is no coincidence, surely, that Noriko should have grown up so headstrong, and Setsuko so shy and retiring. But now, it seems, as she approaches her thirties, Setsuko's looks are taking on a new and not inconsiderable dignity. I can recall her mother predicting this--"Our Setsuko will flower in the summer," she had often said. I had thought this merely my wife's way of consoling herself, but then several times last month, I was struck by how correct she in fact had been. Setsuko came out of her reverie, and cast another glance inside the house. Then she said: "I would suppose what happened last year greatly upset Noriko. Much more perhaps than we supposed." I gave a sigh and nodded. "It's possible I didn't pay enough attention to her at the time." "I"m sure Father did all he could. But of course, such things are a terrible blow to a woman." "I have to admit, I thought she was play-acting a little, the way your sister does sometimes. She"d been insisting it was a "love match", so when it fell through, she"d be obliged to behave accordingly. But perhaps it wasn't all play-acting." "We laughed at the time," Setsuko said, "but perhaps it really was a love match." We fell silent again. From inside the house, we could hear Ichiro's voice shouting something repeatedly. "Forgive me," Setsuko said, in a new voice. "But did we ever hear any further as to why the proposal fell through last year? It was so unexpected." "I have no idea. It hardly matters now, does it?" "Of course not, forgive me." Setsuko seemed to consider something for a moment, then she spoke again: "It's just that Suichi persists in asking me from time to time about last year, about why the Miyakes should have pulled out like that." She gave a little laugh, almost to herself. "He seems convinced I know some secret and that we"re all keeping it from him. I have to continually reassure him that I have no idea myself." "I assure you," I said a little coldly, "it remains equally a mystery to me. If I knew, I wouldn't keep it from you and Suichi." "Of course. Please excuse me, I didn't mean to imply..." Again, she trailed off awkwardly. I may have appeared a little short with my daughter that morning, but then that was not the first time Setsuko had questioned me in such a way concerning last year and the Miyakes" withdrawal. Why she should believe I am keeping something from her, I do not know. If the Miyakes had some special reason for withdrawing like that, it would stand to reason they would not confide in me about it. My own guess is that there was nothing so remarkable about the matter. True, their withdrawal at the last moment was most unexpected, but why should one suppose from this that there was anything peculiar in it? My feeling is that it was simply a matter of family status. The Miyakes, from what I saw of them, were just the proud, honest sort who would feel uncomfortable at the thought of their son marrying above his station. Indeed, a few years ago, they would probably have withdrawn more promptly, but what with the couple claiming it was a "love match", and with all the talk these days of the new ways, the Miyakes are the kind of people who would become confused as to their correct course. No doubt the explanation is no more complicated than that. It is possible, too, that they were confused by my apparent approval of the match. For I was very lax in considering the matter of status, it simply not being my instinct to concern myself with such things. Indeed, I have never at any point in my life been very aware of my own social standing, and even