Reading Journal - "Norwegian Wood" #2

All I knew about the well was its frightening depth. It was deep beyond measuring, and crammed full of darkness, as if all the world’s darkness had been boiled down to their ultimate density.

“It’s really, really deep,” said Naoko, choosing her words with care. “But no one knows where it is,” she continued. “The one thing I know for sure is that it’s around here somewhere.”

This “field well” seems to be what continuously haunts Toru and Naoko. They just cannot let go of the thought that they might fall into it someday without knowing it, although they’re not even sure if this “field well” even exists. The mere idea of unconsciously stepping in to the well and facing the tragic “end” holds the two back from moving forward.

Naoko loves Toru, and she knows he does too; nonetheless, fear keeps her from initiating a new relationship with him. Upon the death of Kizuki, who was her boyfriend and best friend for a long time, she suddenly disappears into thin air, without giving Toru a single clue about her whereabouts. When they meet again two years later, Naoko and Toru start spending time together like the good old days, but once they become intimate on her birthday, she again leaves without warning. For several months, she doesn’t reply to any of Toru’s letters, only to later inform him of her being in a mental hospital. She seems to be all bright and recovering, which relieves Toru and encourages him to wait until she is ready, but she just cannot manage to escape from her “dark days”, as in the end she suffocates herself to death.

Also, in Toru’s case, fear keeps him from admitting his love for Midori. Looking around to find Midori at his class History of Drama, worrying when she does not show up, waiting for her phone calls… He obviously cares about her, but he doesn’t take a further step because he can’t figure out his situation. Toru has trouble defining his relationship with Naoko, which leads on to a similar confusion between him and Midori. The fundamental cause for this issue appears to be his worrying about stepping into the “field well.” The image that Naoko gave him a while ago follows him around, reminding him that the deeper a relationship becomes, the nearer he gets to the well. Even when he realizes through his conversation with Reiko that his true partner is Midori and calls her to at last clarify his mind, however, the thought of the “field well” once again tortures him, messing with his head and apparently getting him lost: “Again and Again, I called out for Midori from the dead center of this place that was no place.”

“Things like that must actually happen.”

“They do, every once in a while. Maybe once in two or three years. Somebody disappears all of a sudden, and they just can’t find him. So then the people around here say, ‘Oh, he fell in the field well.’”

It sure did “actually happen,” but more often than expected. It happened to Naoko after Kizuki’s death and to Toru following Naoko’s death. Both of them got lost with a close one’s death. Midori “disappeared” for a while as well, with her dad’s passing away, but she was able to come back to reality after she took her time. She gradually came back to her usual self, and could fold that dark period away, labeling it a trip “South to Nara and North to Aomori.” It’s a different story for Naoko and Toru though. They two are in this vicious cycle where they lose a dear one, disappear, make efforts to go on and meet new people, and just as they’re about to go a step further, they are reminded of the “field well” that might be somewhere close by, representing another “end.” So Naoko firmly locked herself up, never recovering and eventually committing suicide. As for Toru, he did come back to his usual self, but only physically; he had no idea where he was.

“Field well.” It’s what let pass so many great relationships, opportunities, and possibly true love for Naoko and Toru.