In the folowing essay, Girard analyzes the character of Toshiko in "Swaddling Clothes."

In the story "Swaddling Clothes," Yukio Mishima presents an intriguing picture of how a rich, young mother's obsession over her new baby can lead to violence, destruction, and death. At first glance, "Swaddling Clothes" seems much like Robert J. Smith reported in the Arizona Quarterly, in 1966. At that time, Smith called it a "very slight piece," but he also said that it is powerful in its content. Mishima, a modern Japanese writer, has only had one of his twenty volumes of short stories translated into English. Western culture knows Mishima mainly from his thought-provoking novels; however, the collection known as Death in Midsummer and Other Stories contains ten stories which promote thoughtful, as well as emotional, responses. "Swaddling Clothes" combines many elements in its quick telling and offers a picture that haunts the reader...