Commentary: The Doctor's Wife Chapter 4

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Commentary: The Doctor’s Wife Chapter 4

I will be writing about a very small section of 'The Doctor's Wife', by Sawako Ariyoshi. The section I will be mentioning is the end of chapter four, from the last paragraph on page thirty four, until the end of the chapter, on page thirty seven.

When Naomichi starts off the paragraph on page thirty four, he mentions "Twenty three years ago, Umpei was born." The way he starts off his speech like this is as if he is speaking of his life story, or the most important and interesting story ever, as if no one had heard it before, which contrasts with what comes next, 'probably being repeated for the hundredth time' which shows that it is not a new story, but one that many have heard countless times. In the next few lines, Ariyoshi uses more contrasting ideas, when Naomichi tells of Umpei's birth, of which he delivered with Otsugi in 'terrible pain' even though outside, it was a 'fine day' without a 'patch of cloud'. This contrast shows that there is always a silver lining on the other side after the rough patch, here, with the silver lining being the fine day and the rough patch being Otsugi's painful labour.

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Naomichi tells this story with very good memories, as he remembers the small details of Umpei's birth which he delivered himself. At the top of page thirty five, the sentences are considerably short, which creates a sense of tension in the text for the readers, which make them look forward to something that may be coming ahead for them to look forward to. As Otsugi got into labour, there is another contrast, as the weather started getting bad, and 'thunder roared nearby', which is a personified phrase. As Naomichi was the person to deliver Umpei, he has alot of ...

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