Chapter 4 Summary

While the war is over, people still seem unwilling to embrace the future. The young man's sister dies, and the protagonist's reaction proves at last to himself that he is capable of genuine human emotion. Soon after, Sonoko is, much to the young man's relief, wed. He pretends to himself that he is pleased, trying to construe the whole thing as some sort of victory. The narrator, however, confesses arrogance at accepting credit for things which he has little control over, hinting that one day the young man will pay for his impertinence.

The young man passes a year in vague optimism, immersing himself in law studies. He moves invisibly through the world, taking notice of no one and nothing, feeling neither alive nor dead. With the war behind him, the young man's urge to die has vanished entirely. By chance, he happens...