The Birth of "Cat" : Soseki's Narrator(<Feature Articles>Aspects of the Narrators)

Abstract

Wagahai wa Neko de Aru is not a satire but a humorous novel. The world of "Cat" consists of both the reality of dreary routine and the fantasy world in which "he" can loiter in the space and time of innnity. The narrator is Cat who is situated on the boundary between cats and human beings. He turns his consciousness toward a universal fantasy, but this is refracted toward the earthly world and thus dwarfed. The world of Yokyoshu is just the other side of the world of Cat. The former was incomplete until Cat was born. The world of Cat is the starting point of Soseki literature. The eyes of Cat come alive through the developmental process of Soseki literature.