Hart has degrees in English literature and creative writing and is a published writer of literary themes. In this essay, Hart ponders the symbolic significance of the last chapter, or epilogue, of Mori's novel.

Only two sections out of the sixteen that make up Kyoko Mori's novel Shizuko's Daughter are written without the appearance of the protagonist, Yuki: the first chapter, during which Yuki's mother commits suicide, and the last, referred to as the epilogue. Although it is quite evident why Mori might have chosen not to include Yuki in the chapter about her mother's final moments, it is curious that she decided, after devoting all the other chapters to her protagonist, not to include Yuki in the epilogue. Instead, the focus in the last chapter is on the character Masa, Yuki's grandmother. It is through Masa's vision and reflection that the novel ends. The abrupt transition...