by Hikari
Interpretation
and Analysis
It seems I went too far with the analogies and metaphors. Here are the explanations- or, more accurately, the translation to my story. In this quick three-parter, I used simple words, but the writing structure HARDLY made sense. If anyone’s confused, then I have achieved my goal. Nothing in this story was meant to be taken literally. The first example to this is the antagonist of it all- the doll.
The doll isn’t actually a doll- rather, a non-functioning part of the mental self. There are two types of people in the world- dolls and the being. Those who submit themselves to emotional guilt and torture mercilessly are thus dolls because they have no feeling. In a sense they ‘play’ with themselves, hurt themselves, and do harm to others for they posses no heart. This is why I chose the doll for my symbol representing this state of mind. A doll feels nothing, and when we humans act as such- we become callous devices. Particularly, the doll in this fic was Yukina’s subconscious self-affliction. Everyone must have had, at least once, weighed down his or her guilt and miseries upon his or her own back when it was completely superfluous. We do this to ourselves because it is a characteristic that marks us as human. In Yukina’s case, she brought more agony onto herself because she felt that she wasn’t at all like the others (the rest of the world- the populous). Over and over she questions why she is shunned. We all know that since she was the offspring of an ice demon of treason- Yukina should have encountered some ostracism as a young girl as her brother had. This thus leads to the explanation to: ‘walking upside-down’.
Walking upside-down (by my definition) means to look at the world in a different, and possibly, more pessimistic view. It could otherwise be justified that the world ‘holds them upside-down’ because they (Yukina and Hiei) are different and therefore- non-existent. This is actually a very much how society is today. People look down on those below them. When they do this, they bind those below they ‘superiorize’ over ‘upside-down’ since they view them as queerly unalike. Experiencing this kind of emotional torments is BOUND to freeze the heart, which is yet another symbol of the plot.
At times, we convince ourselves to believe something that isn’t true- whether bad or good. One perfect example of this is the mental illness of anorexia. No matter how thin the patient is, he or she will continue to believe that he or she is still overwhelmingly fat. For Yukina and Hiei, they somewhat convinced themselves that since they are of much absurdity to the world- they must have lost something important- the heart. Of course, some might wonder about the significance and the impossibility of Yukina actually reaching to her chest and tearing her heart apart for her brother. Once again, nothing can be absolutely be taken literally, however- I fully intended for our imaginations see what I have written. Words ALWAYS have more than one meaning, which is why this story must be viewed in two different, but coinciding, ways. One depicting the actual writing- the other the deeper meaning within the words used. Now I am digressing- back to the shared heart. What I mean by a doll stealing Hiei’s heart is a soulless being took away his purpose in life. In other words- he sees no light, no love. But when he found Yukina after saving her, hiei re-acquired the heart he lost BECAUSE of her. There are many ways to interpret the plot and themes, and it’s best for the reader to translate as they like it. This analysis is to help clear some things up.
Now to more complex symbols. First, the carousel. A carousel is something of innocence and childhood. We ‘ride’ this carousel before reaching adolescence. Once the ride is finally over- we must ‘dismount’ from those horses (childish fantasies), in order to grow. Yukina is bound in between innocence and self-discovery because of her psychological trials. She would have been trapped forever in her confusion if Hiei hadn’t broken her mirror.
The mirror is a composition of the self and your personal world. For the reason Yukina wanted to know the truth- she HAD to search within herself FOR that truth. This defines why she went into her mirror; to find the truth, that is- the truth to who she really is.
The fox is cunning, and a manifestation of Yukina’s mind. It changes forms because it is ever-morphing- fickle and inconstant. The fox is actually a monster in beauty’s disguise. The monster is composed of the fear of unknowing. In life, there is this looming trepidation of being unaware or unable to know the future. ‘What will happen? What have I done? Is it true I have a soul?’ This doubting has created the creature of Yukina’s mind which is why it was created at a subconscious level. Yukina did not intentionally create the monster. It was born because of fear, an element no one has control over.
The thin hopeless man on the carousel is also a subconscious manifestation. He truly represents self-pity and dread. For the purpose he is on he carousel- it could be that the dread represented by him is leaving the innocence or finding something of the self we feel compelled to loathe. You can deduce the man however he appears because there shouldn’t be an incorrect answer.
The story. The story of the heart is just that. A story. The story of the heart is what we know as the most treasured memory(s) that make us who we are. Everyone has their own story. However, if no one knows your story- you don’t exist because there was no evidence of you. Hiei and Yukina know each other’s story. Not the story of their pasts or any of that sort. Rather, they know each other’s story because they complete each other. In a way, Rose-san is right on the point of relationship. Tales of how two similar souls become twins. One doesn’t need to know another’s history for the cause that knowing another’s smile is more than enough. That smile shared IS the memory. Happiness opens the truth, which unlocks the book to you story to fill with what you please. This is how I view the best parts of life.
Rainbow dew- the bubble that floated to Yukina. Happiness that one can’t reach. Restricted- untouchable. When Yukina popped the bubble- the joy showered over the earth and she couldn’t even seize one bit. The tears she shed, however, were her tears and HER tears alone. Because she shed them- such treasures belong to no other, but herself.
Intravenous questions throughout the fic. For instance:
“It’s so hard to breathe…”
“You do know why don’t you?”
“It’s because I’m drowning myself…”
These questions are not spoken by any of the characters, however, each question plays of importance to the story. Every question has its own meaning. In this matter, it’s hard to breathe because I am drowning myself. Drowning myself in what? It could be tears, anger, hatred, sadness- any emotion the heart feels. These questions have many angled answers, but the most accurate answers are barely direct (think of it as good accuracy, but bad precision). The purposes of these were to refresh the readers mind. All though we do not know it- we ourselves ask these kinds of questions to ourselves almost everyday. The only catch is, I’ve written the questions differently so it would SEEM that these inquiries are new to thought and are gliding on the lines of paranoia insanity- when in reality, these probings are perfectly normal. (Example: What should I do? ~could be transformed to --» There are so many doors… Which should I open?) While one is direct- the other is not, and therefore can be taken more than one way.
Finally- no need for a broken doll. It’s bad enough for one to have the characteristics of a doll, but an eyeless doll is not only emotionless, but also blind. Yukina states that the doll is a fraud. Meaning, the doll is not the source of the truth because it is made of cold and jealousy. It isn’t that Yukina is jealous, but it would be natural for her to wish to be accepted by the world. Think of a doll or broken doll as the evil side of every girl. Of course, there is no need for such evil. Evil conscious is a voice we hear everyday and tries our good judgment. It is dangerous to listen to a broken doll.
I didn’t clarify everything, but I hope this helps to put things into their
proper perspectives. Any further questions may be e-mailed to me ^_^. Also,
thank-you minna-san for taking the time to read it, I honestly thought
it was TOO weird to put up with, but it’s a nice style to experiment because
there are no limits to your selection of words.
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