The Wild Geese Literary Elements

Historical fiction/Romance

1880s Tokyo

The story is narrated by an unnamed student (implied to be the author Ogai), but most of the chapters focus on either Suezo, Otama, or Okada. The narrator is telling the three stories in retrospect.

The major mood of the Wild Geese is the anxiety of change. The students have begun to learn Western subjects in school, Otama desires to become a modern woman, and the narrator recalls the destruction of the geese pond at the start of the story. All the characters feel the change that is coming to Japan. By the end of the story, the anxiety gives way to disappointment as the characters know they can not avoid this fate.

The narrator, Otama, and Okada are the closest thing the novel has to protagonists. While not an outright antagonist, Suezo is best considered the story's antagonist.

Otama and Okada's desire to meet. Otama desires to escape her role as Suezo's mistress and she believes only Okada can provide that. Okada is in love with Otama, but is unable to reach her. The narrator learns of this conflict decades later as he never actually meets Otama in the story.

Okada and Otama's subverted meeting. Okada and the narrator leave the boardinghouse late which prevents them from encountering Otama on the street. Dinner keeps them late where they encounter another student who prevents the meeting. The next day, Okada has to leave to prepare for his trip to Europe. Otama then is never able to meet Okada and only meets the narrator (implied to be Ogai) years later.

The narrator's description of how the geese pond has been converted into a bicycle track. The geese pond is what eventually prevents Okada and Otama from meeting. Just like the geese pond, their possible relationship is too divided by the modernization of Japan. Okada's career takes him far away and he will never be able to return.

The burning down of the boardinghouse Kamijo which is only mentioned in passing. The event seems to represent the destruction of the narrator's past, but the actual event is talked about little. The burning is actually historical fact as Kamijo (the boardinghouse Ogai Morai lived in) did burn down in real life. The destruction seems to reflect the narrator's bitter feelings towards the entire affair.

The erotic Chinese novel "Kimpeibai" which both Okada and the narrator read. The reader is to assume "The Wild Geese" will mirror the events in "Kimpeibai", but this is far from the truth. The book is largely a red herring for most of the plot. It is the object which gets the narrator and Okada to interact though.

The image of the goose pond which occurs at the beginning and end of the story. At the start, the narrator reflects on how it has been since been destroyed. A fate which he has very little emotion towards. It only become obvious by the end of the story how the goose pond actually impacted the story. Having to help another student hunt a goose from it prevented Okada and the narrator from meeting Okada. Like the wild geese they fly in tandem, but they are wild and without order. There is nothing to be understood from their motions.

Suezo's role as a money-lender in Japanese society. While wealthy, Suezo's role has relegated him as a pariah of society. He too has failed at satisfying his wife despite his wealth. Suezo then suffers the constant paradox of having wealth but be unsatisfied with a family and society that rejects him.

The stories of Suezo, Otama, Otama's father, and Okada. The four plots are only being weaved together years later by the narrator (Ogai). The narrator shows how the lives of the four often intersected, but never met. By the end, it is clear all the characters really just exist in parallel.

The theater stands as a symbol of wider Japanese society. It is a subject which Otama is totally disconnected from. Her existence has nothing to do with the theater. She knows no actors and plays. Thus, the fantasy of acting becomes a symbol for the world Otama desires.

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