Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan-Poo
We also have Kawabata's pow.
-He's been bringing stuff to the "rear port" for 20 years, and it was stuff meant for a young lady, which he was never allowed to see.
-He's been doing that in all secrecy, he was even paid to keep his mouth shout and somewhat even threatened not to open it by Genji.
|
Mind you, that's 50-60s and a refined family is involved. There is nothing really unusual about not letting the outside hired help see their masters. There may also be other very good reasons not to let Kawabata in, for example, if it's the
identity of the lady that had to be protected, and not the lady herself needed to be kept in total isolation.
Oh, by the way. Did you notice that the pilot of the airplane that flies the Ushiromiyas to Niijima in the morning is
also one "Captain Kawabata"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan-Poo
-The conversation between Beato and Kinzo in 1967 we have seen has been confirmed to be true in red.
I think there are enough hints to claim that the probability that this Beatrice didn't exist or wasn't secluded are below 5%.
|
Mind you, I'm not suggesting that Beatrice-2 did not exist, or wasn't secluded. I am merely stating that we cannot use her as an example of a seriously eccentric action by Kinzo, or even very extraordinary. Sure, it would fit well with the
total image of Kinzo, the eccentric, unusual, extraordinary man, but I am doubting that image itself -- all we have to support it are things that support it
only if it's eccentric and extraordinary already.
In short, every instance of "I wouldn't put it past Kinzo." supports the image of a Kinzo that you wouldn't put
anything past -- but
does not actually build it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan-Poo
- being a fanatic of occultism.
- claiming that the witch was real to the point of forcing the servants to believe in it (or pretend to).
- founding an orphanage where children are raised with the prospect of becoming underaged servants as their highest aspiration. They are even stripped of their original name.
- Closing himself into a study for several years, without seeing almost anyone.
|
Point by point.
- Being a 'fanatic of occultism' is very relative. We see no mention of Kinzo actually performing any magic ritual with the exception of Beatrice resurrection, which is not only dissimilar to more or less any magical tradition I have heard of, but is also performed while Kinzo is dead. There is nothing in his study to suggest he actually practiced magic in any fashion, only books about magic. Both an occultist and a cultural anthropologist could have a study full of books about magic, including genuine medieval texts.
- Founding an orphanage to prepare servants is not actually unusual if you perceive the democratization of Japan as a threat to your way of life, which involves highly trained, effective servants. It's actually a very sound decision. The 'stripping' of the original name is actually also a reasonable practice, because this way, abruptly switching gears and choosing a radically different future career path is not a problem for orphanage graduates -- their entire servant career is linked to a pseudonym they can just stop using and dissociate themselves from.
- Closing yourself into a study for several years is not unusual either -- if you have trouble walking or suffer from progressing agoraphobia.
So we're mostly left with claiming that the witch is real and not wanting to see anyone.
Well, these are hardly traits of a daring eccentric who can randomly wake up in the night and go for a walk by jumping out of the window. They're the traits of a disturbed and suffering man which actually make one
less daring. The image of the super-Kinzo for whom nothing is unthinkable doesn't fit with this.