The movie, Woman in the Dunes, is a Japanese movie that was directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964.The movie was drawn from Kobe Abe’s novel, with the same title used in the movie. The movie explains the life of a teacher, Niki Junpei, who gets lost in a new environment full of sand dunes. Niki faces challenges trying to understand his identity and the new life he finds himself in after he was abducted by the sand dunes residents. He is forced to live with a widowed young woman, Kyoko Kishida, who has been condemned to dig sand for survival. Niki struggles to adapt to the woman’s absurd life and makes attempts to leave but finally gives in to fate and chose to live with the widow, even after been allowed to leave. The movie employs different themes and symbols to bring the nature of human existence.
The first symbol is the insect collecting errand. The collection of insects in the movie symbolizes Niki’s search for his identity. Niki dreamt that he had discovered a new insect, propelling him to fame by his name being recorded in the entomology encyclopedias. “But to eyes with magnifying lenses everything seemed tiny and insect-like” (Abe 162). This statement shows that Niki had began to become discerning about the people around him and, most importantly, about himself. The collecting of insects sharpens his ability to discern issues regarding himself and those around him. It represents the development of his identity. Niki sought independence when he went out collecting insects alone. This act portrays him as a person who values independence over cooperation.
The sand in the dunes symbolizes desperation. The sand in the film portrays how people battle with hardships, often giving up. When Niki is unable to escape from the sand hole, he gives up. Niki’s resignation to his new life gives him a sense of freedom. “He adjusted himself to the life of the hole, as if it were a kind of hibernation, concentrating his efforts on making the villagers relax their vigilance” (Abe 146). However, his awareness of freedom and the experience of accepting his fate caused him being anguish and in return he embarks accepting his fate to better his life. Sand is seen on people’s skin, hair strand, sweat, and in the air outside the hut, the landscape is full of flowing, falling and sliding sand (Swanton 1). This presence of sand on people shows that they cannot escape this state of desperation and it has become part of them.
The third symbol is that of the radio. The radio symbolizes the outside world as Niki would connect with what was happening outside the pit through the radio. “If he wanted to make his data more precise, he needed a radio in order to tune in the weather reports. The radio had become their common objective” (Abe 5). The radio helped Niki to link-up with the outside world (Jafari and Pourjafari 1-12).
The crow trap symbolizes how people become trapped because of their lack of discernment. People are often attracted bymisleading things such as immoral desires and end up getting hurt. Crows are attracted by the bait of the crow trap and before they know it, they cannot escape. “From the outside the only thing visible was the bait at the bottom of a sand bowl. As soon as a crow took the bait, the sticks would slip out, the lid would fall down, the sand would slide in, and the crow would be buried alive.” (Abe 146).
Life in the dunes symbolizes the futility and hardships faced by the less fortunate. Niki labors for the upper class. He is confined in life where there are no interactions with the outer world. This experience forced him to try and fight back. “Niki Jumpei attempted to escape from the dunes but fell in quicksand and was captured and returned to the woman’s dwelling.] “I have failed!”“Yea.” “I have really failed!” (Abe 144). This statement underlines the futility of trying to escape the hardships of the less fortunate. Niki finds this kind of lifestyle absurd and even questions the other woman if she shovels sand for survival or survives to shovel. In the modern society, the upper class perpetuates inequalities to the poor denying them their basic rights. The poor become accustomed to the hardship, and they take no action to break the poverty cycle.
The novel exposes infidelity in marriage and the fact that sexual morality is taken lightly in this community. Niki Jumpei is thrown into a sand pit with a strange woman. Although he is married, he ends up having sexual relations with the strange woman. At first, he tries to deny his feelings for the woman. However, since they find themselves mutually at odds in the pit, he succumbs to his desires. The society is so immoral that even the woman recognizes a truth that would be proven by Niki later. “She recognized that no man can get along without some sort of plaything, and if he was satisfied with that one, it suited her. Moreover, she did not know why, but he had begun to show more interest in her own craft work” (Abe 163). He soon succumbs to his feelings. This action represents infidelity since he is a married man. “It was a soft, moving voice. He slowly began to unbutton his shirt and trousers. It was as if the sand had filled his whole skin. (What was the other woman doing now? he wondered.) What had happened before yesterday seemed like ages ago. The woman began to rub some soap on a wet cloth” (Abe 145). This statement shows Niki’s gradual slip in his moral resolve. He lets go of his inhibitions and agrees to be intimately close with the woman in the pit. It represents a lack of discipline on his part.
Woman in the Dunes paints a pessimistic picture that makes the reader ponder over why one would choose to remain stuck in their misery. The isolated life that the main characters are subjected to is disturbing. At one point, the author notes that “There was no particular need to hurry about escaping” (Abe 165). This statement shows the futility of the act of trying to esc ape from hardships. It strikes a pessimistic tone. The trapped characters do not seem hopeful about their plight. The movie portrays the absorption, alienation and oppression of man’s spirit by the harsh life conditions (Jafari and Pourjafari 1-12). Individuals’ souls are clearly challenged by hardships and most of the times forced to resign and surrender to fate (Jafari and Pourjafari 1-12).
Works Cited
Abe, Kōbō. The Woman In The Dunes. New York: Knopf, 1964. Print.
Jafari, Aliye Mohammad and Fatemeh Pourjafari. "The Bizarre World Of The Dunes: An Existential Interpretation Of Kobo Abe’S The Woman In The Dunes." The Criterion an International Journal in English 4.2 (2013): 1-12. Web. 6 May 2016.
Swanton, Katie. "Themes and Symbols In The Woman of The Dunes." prezi.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 May 2016.
