Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Tale for the Time Being, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time, Impermanence, and the Present
The Difficulty of Communication
Life vs. Death
Coincidences and Connections
Sexual Perversion and Violence
Summary
Analysis
(1) Ruth knows that Miyagi prefecture, in the northeastern part of Japan, was one of the regions that was hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami. Jiko’s temple was located somewhere along its coastline. Fukushima prefecture, where the nuclear power station had a catastrophic meltdown after the earthquake, was located just south of Miyagi.
Ruth is worried that Jiko and her ancient temple might not have survived the tsunami. They, too, are impermanent “time beings”—no matter how old and awe-inspiring they are.
Themes
(2) The island Ruth and Oliver live on has a nickname—“The Island of the Dead”—probably because it has tribal burial grounds or because of its aging population of retirees. Ruth likes the nickname, since Ruth’s mother died there, and she interred both of her parents’ ashes at Whaletown Cemetery. She plans to have her and Oliver’s ashes buried there, as well.
The island Ruth lives on reminds her of her own mortality and the impermanence of all people. Although Ruth doesn’t particularly enjoy living on “The Island of the Dead,” the nickname is comforting to her, as it seems to reassure her that death is a natural part of life.
Themes
(3) Dora, the postmistress in Whaletown, is a busybody who knows everything about everyone on the island, so Ruth asks her if she knows anything about Benoit LeBec. Ruth previously called Benoit and left him a message, but she hasn’t heard back yet. Dora says that the LeBecs are away at a wedding and asks Ruth why she needs to speak to Benoit. Ruth feels protective of Nao’s story, so she answers vaguely that she needs help translating something. Dora immediately asks if it is related to the diary Ruth found on the beach, and Ruth realizes that Muriel has already spread the word.
Ruth dislikes the complete lack of privacy on the island—the islanders love to gossip, and everyone seems to know everything about one another. Ruth feels that this makes her different from (and even superior to) the other islanders, since she’s from a city and has no interest in gossip. However, this passage shows that she, too, is reliant on the network of island gossip (like when she asks Dora for news of Benoit), and that the islanders are always keen to help.
Themes
(4) There is a storm that evening, and Ruth suspects that they will lose power soon. She checks her email before the power goes to see if she has an email from Dr. Leistiko, but he hasn’t replied yet. She then quickly searches for the terms “Yasutani Jiko,” “Zen,” and “nun,” with the addition of a new search term: “Miyagi.” The wheel on her browser keeps spinning, and just as Ruth is about to give up hope, there’s a bright flash of light on her monitor followed by darkness. When it flickers back on, she sees that she has one result from her search: an excerpt from an archive of scholarly journals.
The scholarly article appears on Ruth’s monitor like magic—there is even a flash of light before it shows up. This suggests that these coincidences and connections among characters have a supernatural element to them.
Themes
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The scholar who wrote the article is discussing the work of Jiko Yasutani as a groundbreaking feminist author who writes autobiographical fiction. Ruth would need a subscription to the archive to read the whole article, but she is excited to have proof that Jiko and Nao are real people. But when Ruth clicks the “Read more” link, she gets a “Server Not Found” message—and then the power goes out.
Much like the scholarly article lauds Jiko’s “autobiographical fiction,” Ruth admires Nao’s style of writing in her diary. In this way, Jiko and Nao seem to share a talent for writing about their experiences.
Themes
(5) The next morning, Oliver wants to go to the beach to gather some seaweed for fertilizer. At the beach, Ruth and Oliver are surprised to see a huge crowd of people walking around. They spot Muriel, who says that the crowd is Ruth’s fault—all these people have heard about the freezer bag she found, and they, too, want to find something from the tsunami. Muriel explains that most of these people are looking for money or valuables. Ruth angrily says that the scavengers are Muriel’s fault, since she was the one who told the whole island about the freezer bag. Muriel agrees and apologizes.
While Ruth’s irritation at the islanders often seems unmerited, this is one instance in which she is justifiably angry. Muriel’s tendency to gossip has spread the news about Ruth’s find even beyond their little town, and the people combing the beach are motivated by greed. Muriel’s humility in apologizing, however, shows that she’s not as bad as Ruth assumed.
Themes
