significance of Doubles and Duality

Instances of doubles, such as characters who share the same name or similar names, are symbolic of reproduction through independent or non-traditional means. Some examples of this phenomenon that appear in the novel include Midoriko’s friend Jun and Jun Aizawa, Natsuko’s friend Rie and Rika Yusa, and Natsuko herself, as the repetition in her full name, Natsuko Natsume, represents a certain duality. These doubles appear during the second half of the novel, during which Natsuko is questioning whether she can have a child as a single mother, seeming to suggest with their presence that Natsuko can look beyond a typical heterosexual, two-parent family as a way of having a child.