Taegatai Meiro

nathandouglasdavis Feb 15, 2022

4

Huh. I wonder why the author chose to end the story in that way. The scene itself is creepy, so normally I might just assume that that was the sole purpose behind its existence. But then it also specifically engages with Sayako's fears, so I begin to wonder whether there's some sort of allegorical meaning intended. Is the maze meant to represent the human psyche, with the systematic and orderly way the monks line up meant to represent them overcoming spiritual "lost"-ness? If that's the case, then the lack of a strong resolution in the end gives off a nihilistic impression about the ultimate meaninglessness of life and our actions. The monks' sense of calm detachment can be seen as both bad and good. The girls' emotional pain and turmoil, and especially that of Sayako, can be interpreted as something bad or as something good (at least in the sense that such pain is an inevitability if you want to have emotional attachments to other people). But if this is allegory or metaphor, then what are the long-dead remains lining the walls intended to represent? I honestly don't think this was intended to be allegorical and was instead just intended to create some creepy images of mummified corpses.