📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS
📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS

Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Woman in the Purple Skirt.

Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224 pgs.

The conventional wisdom of minding one’s business takes a subversive take in Natsuko Imamura’s novel The Woman in the Purple Skirt. While it’s still a desirable thing to not put one’s nose in other people’s business; it’s also true that art has no boundaries. Natsuko Imamura turns what would amount to stalking in modern life into an activity that is worth pursuing. The thin line between observing and stalking someone is blurred in the novel, but it’s amusing how one can get so interested in someone else’s life, meticulously and without any malicious intention.

The narrator follows the everyday routine of a woman, whose name we eventually get to know later. She is known as the Woman in the Purple Skirt throughout the novel and the woman who narrates her story calls herself the Woman in a Yellow Cardigan. Intriguingly, the novel organically depicts a close observation of a woman’s life, rather than online stalking, which is considered to be not only much easier to pursue but also less tedious than actually following a person. It also opens the stark reality of a lonely life, the lives of lonely people, and of times consumed by thoughts of other people. There are times when a reader might expect more thrill and suspense, but it mostly turns out to be the mundane details involving the woman’s life, all unremarkable aspects of her life that eventually makes her an intriguing character.

The life of the Woman in the Purple Skirt seems monotonous and unremarkable, and the narrator finds her elusiveness enticing. She follows her everywhere and keeps a record of every aspect of her life, including her employment and the times when she’s out of work. The story is partly thrilling and partly intrusive. There are parts when one questions the monotony of it, not because it’s monotonous but because of the audacity of the narrator to follow someone with such tenacity. The narrator not only notices the days and month but also the exact timings of her whereabouts on everyday basis.

Through the course of the novel, we get to know that she does have a family, but she stays by herself. The woman’s affair with the Director, a married man, shows double standards on infidelity. The married man is absolved while the woman is maligned. Her isolated life might be a personal choice, and it might not be even loneliness, but a woman living on her own is labelled as lonely. There is nowhere in the text where the Woman in the Purple Skirt calls herself lonely, but she is perceived as a loner. Or perhaps, it’s the narrator who is lonely since we know very little about her own life and more about her description of the Woman in the Purple Skirt’s. However, it must be reiterated that none of these women call themselves lonely or helpless. The narrator merely assumes that regarding the Woman in the Purple Skirt, just like others do.

It might be tempting to see the novel as a tale of infidelity and betrayal but it’s worth fighting this temptation. The Director has crass manners right from the start, even if his infidelity is exposed later in the novel. We see him being extremely authoritative and self-centred at a restaurant when dining with the Woman in the Purple Skirt. It’s not surprising to see him betraying two women at the same time and the helplessness of the wife who has continued to live with him either out of ignorance or because she has accepted patriarchy as a norm.

“Suimasen!” the director barked. He signalled to the staff that he wanted to order. This, this, this, he said. He was the one who decided what they’d have; the Woman in the Purple Skirt sat in silence. Amid the hubbub of all the customers, the director’s loud, easy laughter occasionally reached my ears; I heard not a peep from the Woman in the Purple Skirt. It seemed the director was a regular here.

The Woman in the Purple Skirt doesn’t speak for herself. It’s only through the narrator that we get to know her. Both these women use serendipity as a tool to escape the reality. The narrator is not a usual stalker; she cares for this woman. She probably sees a part of herself in that woman. What she observes about the life of the Woman in the Purple Skirt are general hardships of day-to-day living. The problems of finding employment, paying bills on time, and workplace issues are all part and parcel of our existence. The novel makes us think why would anyone delve into such an unremarkable aspect of someone’s life?

The answer partly lies in the romanticisation of grand narratives and partly in going against this established norm, and that makes the novel remarkable. The glorification of a happening life is a modern construct; most people live ordinary lives and it’s as worthy of celebration in literature or elsewhere as any other grand narrative. The novel makes us rethink the ways we shape our views on loneliness and companionship. At a time when technology and social media portray glamorous aspects of one’s life, it’s worth looking at the monotony of everyday existence and even its celebration. The novel allows us to look beyond the established norms on happiness and success, which in turn, keeps a reader’s curiosity intact despite being “normal” and far from being a thriller. There is beauty in anonymity and discreetness; the world is not just about powerful and influential people.

The translation reads well and doesn’t leave a reader in a linguistic dilemma and distance that come with translations. It’s heartening to read translated works, as they bring us a world otherwise denied to us. It’s also worth mentioning that Imamura creates a character that has the patience and strength to care about someone’s life meticulously in a world that has become highly individualistic. A novel that portrays a mundane life and is a refreshing read.

How to cite: M, Fathima. “Thin Line Between Observing and Stalking: Natsuko Imamura’s The Woman in the Purple Skirt.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 21 Oct. 2024, chajournal.blog/2024/10/21/purple.

Fathima M teaches English literature in a women’s college in Bangalore, India. She likes hoarding books and visiting empty parks. [Read all contributions by Fathima M.]