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Kitchen - Parenting - Coggle Diagram
Kitchen - Parenting
Parenting as an emotional safe space
Mikage finds solace in Eriko & Yuichi's household, showing how parenting does not need to be linked by blood
Page 55 'Truly great people emit a light that warms the hearts of those around them. When that light has been put out, a heavy shadow of despair descends. Perhaps Eriko's was only a minor kind of greatness, but her light was sorely missed'
Eriko's warmth and kindness helped Mikage and Yuichi cope with grief after the loss of her grandmother and his father, respectively
A majority of Eriko's lines contain the motif of smiling/cheerfulness/warmth suggesting how Eriko helps Mikage and Yuichi due to her supportive nature as a parent
The Lighthouse song on page 38 could be seen as symbolic of Eriko's parenting
'A lighthouse in the distance / To the two of us in the night / The spinning night looks like / Sunshine through the branches of trees shows that Eriko's 'warmth' shines through all the 'darkness'
Challenges and Vulnerabilities of Parenting in Kitchen
Eriko's death underscores the fragility of surrogate parenting, and forces Yuichi and Mikage to confront grief without her guidance and support
Eriko, although representing love and resilience also represents ideas of social prejudice and danger. Her murder is a reminder of the risks faced by people who defy traditional social and gender norms, and sets the novella back to reality.
Yuichi & Mikage's reliance on Eriko shows how parenting can create dependency, and the emotional void brought about by her death is devastating. Despite Mikage having gone through such events before, it shows how the pain is something that will always happen during loss.
Mikage: loss of parental figure
Losing her grandmother at the start of the novella shows the fragility of parental figures
Page 4 'Before the Tanabe family took me in, I spent every night in the Kitchen. After my grandmother died, I couldn't sleep' shows how important parenting and family is.
Losing Eriko in Chapter 2 shows the importance of a parental figure
Page 46: 'When was it that Eriko and I last saw each other? Had we parted laughing? My head was spinning.' fills Mikage with regret which occurs when there is a lost one.
Non-traditional Parenting in Kitchen
Eriko Tanabe embodies the main unconventional parental role, by playing as a transgender woman who provides warmth and stability
Eriko challenges ideas that parenting is defined by love and care rather than biology or gender, at a time where Japan was still dominated by traditional family ideals & gender norms
Her impact on Mikage as a surrogate mother offers Mikage stability and affection in a time where she had never felt so alone
Mikage's grandmother is also an example, being Mikage's emotional anchor and her death leaves Mikage lost until the Tanabes take him in