Naoko's Connection to Mancini & Brahms

 As talked about in my last post, Murakami draws a lot of inspiration from music in his works, which can again be seen throughout Norwegian Wood. As a warning, this post will contain spoilers for Norwegian Wood as well. I would like to focus on Naoko in this post, as she is a complex character struggling with many mental health problems, and the connections to her favorite pieces of music. To start, we are told early on that Toru buys Naoko a record of her favorite song, "Dear Heart" by Henry Mancini. Below I have listed the main lyrics that are repeated throughout it:

Dear heart wish you were here to warm this night

My dear heart, seems like a year since you've been out of my sight

A single room, a table for one

It's a lonesome town all right

But soon I'll kiss you hello at our front door

And dear heart I want you to know

I'll leave your arms never more

"Dear Heart" is unmistakenly a piece about loneliness, with an intense yearning for a lover that is constantly evading our grasp. This theme is very prominent when we look at Naoko. She lost her best friend and lover Kizuki to suicide, and cannot stop reverting into herself. Toru and Reiko both attempt to help Naoko along this journey, and yet to no avail. Although this song isn't explicitly about self harm, the last 3 lines can be painted that ends with Naoko's suicide at the end of the book. The front door can refer to the gates of the afterlife, and the dear heart of this song can be in reference to Kizuki, as we know from Chapter 1 that Naoko never loved Toru. And in death, the two will remain inseparable. 

Murakami also tells us that one of Naoko's favorite pieces is Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E minor. While Toru was able to get 2 tickets for free for him and her to go, he unfortunately had to take care of Storm Trooper, causing Naoko to again end up alone. It is standard for romantic era symphonies to end in the major key, and yet Brahms chooses to end his final work in E minor, which doesn't bring us the happy ending we usually see with this form of music. All we get is this deep, dark emotional punch into our gut, alluding to Naoko's suffering and fate. While Brahms was writing his 4th Symphony, he was in the midst of reading Sophocles, one of the three main Greek tragedy authors. It is said that he was influenced by the themes and motifs of Greek tragedy, which can potentially be linked to the extensive talk on Euripides we see in Toru and Midori's class. Greek tragedy explores human suffering, their choices, and their fate. This again can be linked to Naoko, with her suffering from her mental health, and her ultimate fate to commit suicide. This could all just be by coincidence, as it is unknown if Murakami thought of these connections when writing Norwegian Wood. Although, it is interesting to think about once you see the connections between her character and the main themes of her two favorite songs.

Angus Black