Obasan Mortality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"Everyone someday dies," she says eventually. (3.9)

Obasan says this phrase repeatedly after Uncle Sam dies. Even though it's technically true, we know from the beginning that there's something strange about this statement. By the end of the novel it's clear that Obasan repeats the phrase because she's trying to convince herself that it's true.

Quote #2

"Lost," she says occasionally. The word for "lost" also means "dead." (5.13)

The word that Obasan is probably using is nakunaru (無くなる). Just like Naomi later finds two versions of the word love, here one word has two meanings. Nakunaru literarily means "to stop existing," or "to become nonexistent." It's pretty appropriate that she uses this word instead of a word that would only be used for losing objects, since throughout the novel people and memories are compared to the things in Obasan's home.

Quote #3

The bed is strange and pristine, deathly in its untouched splendor. I have never seen his wife. Does she not live here? Is this where they sleep? (11.41)

This scene takes place when Old Man Gower molests Naomi. If we weren't sure before that he wasn't a good guy, his bed being "deathly," is a pretty good sign that something bad is going to happen.