Page:Tayama Katai and His Novel Entitled Futon (Reece).pdf/87

 depth of nature suddenly assailed Tokio.

Tokio had a desire to find a just solution to their problem. It struck him that his behavior until now had been very unnatural and insincere. That night, Tokio wrote a serious letter to Yoshiko's parents. . ..

Contrary to Tokio's indecisive mental state, Johannes possesses qualities and elements in his personality that are lacking in Tokio. Johannes loves himself all the time and absolutely rejects conformity which denies the rights of an individual. He likes his parents but disagrees with their religious views, as we have already seen. He is fond of his wife, but he is not a family man like Tokio who takes up part-time employment to support his family. This characteristic of Johannes is borne out in his retort to his wife.

In addition to his not being a family man, Johannes is a self-centered man, although I might add that he has a tender heart. He loves his wife but when by chance he meets Anna Mahr, who is a more congenial companion than his wife, he falls in love with Anna. Johannes's conscience does not hurt him as does Tokio's, because Johannes firmly believes that his affection for his wife has grown deeper and fuller as the result of his acquaintanceship with Anna, as is shown in the following talk between Johannes and Anna.