The Gate – Natsume Sōseki (1910)

“Sosuke listened to his aunt’s explanation in a daze and was hard-pressed to offer even a token response–further proof, it struck him, of his nervous disorder having robbed him of the capacity he once had to think on his feet and come to quick, clear conclusions. For her part, his aunt seemed worried that he had not taken her at her word and blurted out the amount of funds diverted to Yasunosuke”

I have never before come across a character as similar to myself as the protagonist of Natsume Sōseki’s The Gate, Sosuke, especially when it comes to general demeanour and social deficiencies. That endless cycle of being too anxious (usually for no reason at all) to fully and honestly engage someone in conversation, making them nervous as they assume you’re not listening/don’t care about what they are saying, which can only to a complete lack of communication and makes any kind of mutual resolution impossible.

Almost the entire book is set in one way or another, in the internal world of Sosuke, and if not it is usually to focus on other characters reactions to him. The external world might as well not exist to him, he has no active part in it nor any desire to be so. This is why Oyone is so important to him, she is the only part of the outside world he has let into his, and so much so the two are often described as having combined themselves into one being. They are all the other has and all they really need. So much of the dialogue in this book takes place during the most mundane of the mundane, a couple talking just before they fall asleep, those few warm and most vulnerable of moments just before sleep takes over. The entire book is written with the same delicacy of slowly receding into the gentle oblivion of a dreamless sleep. Having this be the backdrop to so many of the most important conversations in the novel give it that certain honesty and intimacy which I have rarely seen elsewhere.

The only people who can claim any sort of happiness are those either with a family (looking toward the future) or those who can be seen accepting and living a new Westernized way of live (the current change) and the fact that the Nonaka’s are both steadfast in upholding a traditional way of life and childless, Sōseki is here showing us his beliefs on the past, present and future of Japanese society.

Unlike the one truly active character, his little brother Koroku, Sosuke has no real desire for betterment only a hope that all will stay as it is, the most he can expect from his existence is that it remain an unproblematic and unchanging landscape, and if it does get worse he can always reason out that people like him shouldn’t expect any better. Once again this is something that I very much share with him. Not quite sure what to make of Sosukes complete inability for enlightenment through Zen, I feel like there must be more to it than just being another way to show how set in his ways he is and his inability for change. Maybe the only true path towards enlightenment and change would have come from being able to face up and speak to Yasui instead of fleeing to a temple in the mountains.

To me, Sosuke a mirror of my own current way of life, and the many things that maybe are not bad things but only effect my life in a negative way. While it provides no answers outright, it does to me talk to the value of being connected to the people around you, even if it is frightening and confusing and most often feels like far more work than its worth. Whilst having internal strength is vital for anyone, if that strength is gone as soon as you’re confronted with the reality of sharing your existence with others it becomes useless. There’s no value to being in being the strongest man in the world if you’re the only person alive.

3.5/5

Has anyone else read this? What did you think? This is my first novel by Sōseki I’ve read so what would you suggest I read next from him?

by marqueemoonchild