You'd think that with war, murder, and snowstorms, the characters in Snow Falling on Cedars wouldn't have time to get all moony about each other, but you would be so wrong. Love and marriage are pretty central topics in the novel. In fact, even though he's been through a war and lost an arm, Ishmael still acts like the loss of his high school girlfriend is the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to him.
He's so fixated on Hatsue and getting her back in his life that he initially withholds crucial evidence that could help exonerate Kabuo, and he spends a lot of the trial (you know, the one he's supposed to be reporting on) daydreaming about her. He eventually gets it together and manages to hand in the evidence that helps Kabuo get off, an act that signals he may be getting his life together, but Ishmael has to get his heart under control in order for that justice to come to pass.
Questions About Love
- Within the novel's universe, is love a force for good, a force for evil, or just not powerful at all? How do we know?
- At the end of the novel, Ishmael says that the human heart is the only place where accident doesn't rule the roost. What does he mean by that? And how does that statement fit into the novel's larger exploration of fate vs. free will?
- Was Hatsue ever in love with Ishmael, or did she just talk herself out of her feelings on the basis of political and social pressures?
- Was Ishmael truly in love with Hatsue? He never really seemed to understand what she was thinking, so how could he have been in love with her? What parts of the book give you your ideas?
Chew on This
Ishmael's consistent failure to perceive or understand Hatsue's feelings and motivations undermines his claims to having loved her. He experienced obsession, not love. (Get with it, Ish.)
The marriages and relationships portrayed in the novel are forged or fueled by a wide variety of different circumstances (convenience, arranged marriage, sex, etc.) that are distinct from love. With the possible exception of Arthur and Helen Chambers, not one of the relationships in the novel seems based purely on affection or love.