The idea of having your shadow removed or simply being without a shadow is a strange prospect. Your shadow cannot be physically removed, and it is not at all plausible that one could wake up and find that they no longer cast a shadow. However, this does not concern Murakami. He does not view shadows as something we just cast or create based on our position in relation to light. He seems to view shadows more metaphysically, and the purpose that shadows serve in these two novels is meant to tell us something about the town. In both novels, Boku’s shadow is removed upon entering the town. It is explained that no one in the town has a shadow and that he will be fully integrated into the town when his shadow dies. So what really are these shadows meant to represent?
Having read the entirety of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, I am going to jump to a conclusion to answer the questions of shadows. This conclusion requires a much more thought-out piece of writing to provide evidence of its validity, but considering this is a blog post and I don’t necessarily want to spoil the book for those who have yet to read it, I will just make my claim and hope you all believe me.
My claim about a Hard-Boiled Wonderland – and most likely A City and Its Uncertain Walls, although I haven’t read it yet – is that the town is a physical projection of Bokus' subconscious. It is the world within his mind. I am confident in this claim because of how a Hard Boiled Wonderland ends, but I believe there are some signs to allude to this being true in A City and Its Uncertain Walls as well. Now, what does this mean in my venture to define Murakami’s shadows?
Well, in Hard-Boiled Wonderland, it is made pretty clear that those without shadows are also without “mind.” I think a distinction needs to be made here between “mind” and the subconscious that I am attributing to the town. The subconscious is something that we are unaware of, which is why I believe that Boku mostly doesn’t recognize anyone in the town. He has likely seen them before, and they bear some significance to his life, but he is not conscious of it. On the other hand, it seems that the mind is to represent the consciousness. The ability to care, opine, love, and reminisce all seem to be absent in this town devoid of shadows. To me, this makes sense: the separation of the conscious and subconscious mind. This is why anyone entering the town must have their shadow – their consciousness – removed. We as conscious beings will never be able to peer down into the depths of our subconscious and come back up; if we attempt to journey to the town of the subconscious, we must lose our conscious mind in the process.
Isaac Robillard
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