On Thu, 25 Jul 1996, Elizabeth Christian wrote:
I think a compromise is possible between these two viewpoints. According
Tatewaki's comments to his sister, Kodachi was quite young when her mother
died. Most children who lose a parent to any sort of death have strong
feelings of abandonment. Since Kodachi was very young and then grew up in
such an unsupportive environment, her feelings of abandonment were never
resolved, and fester into a growing instability. Eventually she goes nuts.
If she blames her mother for dying, then she can display the bitterness
Richard has written.
That's what I was trying to express. No matter what the culture is, the
fact remains that Kodachi's mother died when she was a little girl.
Combined with her less than loving environment, that traumatized her.
*But* since the cultural baggage attached to the reason of death is
different, Kodachi would express her hurt in a different way in the scene
Richard wrote. She'd probably talk about being left alone by her mother,
not about dishonor and stuff.
I was in no way questioning that Kodachi - or anyone else for that matter
- would not be scarred by the death of a loved one.
Sebastian