Before formally starting the analysis, let me talk about my feelings when I first read this novel a year ago! When I first read this book, I thought Matsuko was a stupid and hopeless woman who always thought highly of herself. She repeatedly missed opportunities and made the worst choices among all options. At that time, I couldn't understand or empathize with her, I could only feel sorry for her. At the end of the novel, she had found her own light, but was ironically killed by a delinquent boy. At that time, I even thought this plot was the author's irony.
Some people say that character determines destiny, and some people analyze how Matsuko's life could have been better if she made different choices. I didn't delve into it and let it go. Matsuko felt that she was not understood by anyone, and indeed, she was never understood throughout her life. Even after writing the novel, I, as a reader, still couldn't understand her. Perhaps, this is the meaning of "being despised".
After rereading it, I dare not say that I truly understand Matsuko, but this time, I experienced her life with sincerity. I have thought a lot and the points I want to share are quite fragmented, but summarizing it, I can share my feelings from two perspectives by combining the film and the original work.
The first point I want to share is about "pleasing personality". If you know more about psychology, you may have more ideas about this topic. Here, I will briefly talk about my thoughts.
Matsuko's pleasing personality is formed from her family of origin, which is presented in both the original work and the film. Among them, the film presents it more directly, especially with the addition of the ugly clown face, which is a conditioned reflex formed to please her father, and it can better explain the direct reason why Matsuko makes "stupid" choices again and again. Otherwise, it would be difficult to understand why Matsuko would do what she did during the school trip, just like my first reading of the original work. But I don't know if you noticed, since Tetsuya died, Matsuko has never made that clown face again.
Speaking of Tetsuya, I have a deep impression of this character. When I first read about him, I couldn't understand why Matsuko would love him so humbly and be with this abusive man. But if we look at it from the perspective of a pleasing personality, it can be easily explained. For Matsuko, even if this is a distorted love, it is what she wants to pursue because only when she is with Tetsuya, she feels needed. She longs to be needed and loved, so she is willing to do anything, even if it means becoming a bathhouse girl, just to be with him. When she is being abused, her thoughts are not about being wronged, not anger, not sadness, but she notices the hole in Tetsuya's socks and wants to mend it for him. The film includes two close-ups of the torn socks, which, although not explicitly stated, present Matsuko's psychological description at that time. So compared to the original work, the film indeed lacks many details and psychological descriptions, but it tells the tragic story in a humorous and fairy tale-like way, making it less oppressive for the audience. When reading the book, the details of the scenes and Matsuko's psychological descriptions truly made me feel the overwhelming oppression of the tragedy. I don't know how you feel about it.
In addition, due to the reasons for its release in China, the film cut the scenes of Matsuko being the top star and her interactions with Ayano and Akagi. This may confuse the audience as the plot jumps directly from the separation with Okano to the scene of killing Onodera. But I think Matsuko lived most like herself and lived the best when she was the top star. At that time, Matsuko was basically living for herself, so that was when she had the most charisma. Matsuko's pleasing personality is somewhat extreme, which makes her constantly giving. Her love is too full, she loves too hard, and she completely devotes herself without reservation.
The film added a line that was not in the original work, a message from Asuka - "The value of a person does not lie in how much they receive, but in how much they give." This line also deeply influenced Matsuko, showing that Tetsuya Nakashima affirmed Matsuko's pleasing personality. Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with having a pleasing personality, but before loving others, one should love oneself first, so that you are worthy of being loved. I affirm the immeasurable value of giving, but self-love is not selfishness. Just like the priest's words in the original work, love in one's heart can overflow and benefit others. Speaking of this, I still remember the chocolate with the words "Love yourself first" that Max gave, so I recommend you watch "Mary and Max".
However, even with a pleasing personality, Matsuko made a mistake that she could never forgive herself for, which was hurting her sister who loved her. Fortunately, at the end of the film, she was able to reconcile with her sister, comb her hair, let go of her inner demons, and face the sunlight. This was the only redemption she received. Although she only received this one redemption, she became a god in Ryuzo's heart, a longing for Asuka, and even a redemption for countless readers and viewers. Even if Matsuko has nothing left, only the ability to love, she is still like a god-like existence.
In the original work, after Matsuko kills Onodera and is arrested, there is a chapter specifically dedicated to the content of the "Court Judgment", which summarizes the previous plot and Matsuko's family of origin, and concludes with "acting arbitrarily and short-sighted in establishing interpersonal relationships, the defendant's character defects are the main factors, it can be said that she brought it upon herself, and her behavior is difficult to understand...". Yes, when I first read this, I even felt fortunate that my thoughts were the same as the author's. But now it seems that this judgment is not the author's true thoughts, the tone is extremely cold, as if describing the indifferent secular perspective, just like my secular perspective, so this judgment is very convincing, and it overlooks the author's allegorical style.
Character defects are not a reason, and the inability to understand choices is not the focus. Life is one's own, and everyone will make choices they believe are right, based on their own feelings, that is their own life. Matsuko is a person who lacks love to an extreme extent, so she keeps giving and making choices that others cannot understand, just to seek a little warmth. She has always had this hope, until the end of her life.
So, the second thing I want to share with you is about "hope" - Matsuko's hope and her life.
A person's life is full of suffering, and the sadness in life far exceeds the joy. In the first half of the film, Matsuko said three times, "I feel like my life is over." The first time was when she was expelled from school, the second time was the night Tetsuya committed suicide, and the third time was after she killed Onodera. But despite these life-like blows, Matsuko was not completely defeated. Some people say that she became Okano's mistress after Tetsuya's death, which was a downfall; some say that she became a bathhouse girl after separating from Okano, which was a downfall; some say that killing Onodera and becoming a murderer was a downfall; and some say that lying in the garbage all day and drinking was a downfall. But after being expelled from school, Matsuko met Tetsuya and gained a sense of being needed, she did not fall; after Tetsuya's death, she worked at a supermarket and discovered her talent, gaining a sense of fulfillment, she did not give up on herself; when she became a bathhouse girl, she did not completely let herself fall, but kept saving money and planning for the future; even in prison after killing someone, she persisted in exercising every day, diligently studied hairdressing, all just to spend a normal life with Shimazu, whom she had only spent a month with and had already forgotten his appearance, hoping to be released from prison and be with him. Every time, every time, she faced hardships. But Matsuko, every time, every time, could grasp that glimmer of hope in her heart, with the survival instinct called hope, like a life-saving straw, carrying hope and facing reality. Although from a God's perspective, Matsuko's situation is already extremely tragic, and she is "beyond redemption", as the protagonist of her own life, she has never been truly defeated. Even when she was repeatedly hurt by the deeply loved Ryuzo, even when she said she would never trust anyone again, even when she had already given up on her body, she still managed to reconcile with her past self in the end.
This spirit, we usually may call it resilience. But in Matsuko's case, I would like to call it bravery. Facing the hardships of this world, experiencing them firsthand and still holding onto hope, is not just resilience, it is bravery. Matsuko's life is a life of pursuit, a life of regrets, a life of failures, but it is also a life lived earnestly. The final chorus in the film also illustrates that this is not just Matsuko's life, but the life of each and every one of us. Life is an unguided symphony, self-created and performed, and in different social encounters and life experiences, it repeatedly self-harmonizes, playing out each person's different destiny, broadcasting countless ever-changing stories of life interwoven with joy and sorrow.
As long as you live earnestly, everything is enough. I wish you can also live this life full of hope and earnestness.