<論考>ギミックとしての認知症 --村上春樹『1Q84』『騎士団長殺し』--

Abstract

This paper discusses the representation of dementia in 1Q84 and Killing Commendatore. First, I consider the representation of dementia in modern Japanese novels to confirm how patients with dementia are otherized and their inner mental state is rendered absent, in addition to focusing on the fear of dementia on the side of caregivers, as particularly represented in Sawako Ariyoshi's The Twilight Years. Next, Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 and Killing Commendatore are analyzed in terms of how dementia is used as a gimmick to represent things that would normally be dismissed as delusions or mysterious phenomena. The main characters believe that dementia patients are conscious, but in both novels the patients themselves are portrayed as animals and plants nonetheless. Furthermore, the inner world of the patients is depicted as mysterious, and moreover, it brings special power. While the dementia described by Haruki Murakami functions as a gimmick to summon an unreal world, similar gimmicks also can be seen in characters with disabilities. In this respect, the novels are sparse on details particular to dementia as a real neurodegenerative disorder.