尾崎翠「アップルパイの午後」論

――兄妹家庭の夢をめぐって

抄録

It is often pointed out that Midori Osaki's works treat big brother-kid sister households that are geographically separate from the parental home. Such households are considered to be still under the patriarchy with the brother functioning as the surrogate father of the sister. However, in An Apple Pie Afternoon, the brother and sister are more like accomplices. They fight repeatedly, yet the way they fight suggests that they are accomplices in their pursuit of youthful freedom and love behind their father's back. Thus their relationship is not that of oppressor and oppressed. Both of them are enjoying a temporary flight from paternal surveillance. In this way this play portrays young people enjoying their free time and conveys the happy feeling of youth.