Setting

The action of "Han's Crime" takes place in a courtroom. The courtroom is not described in any detail; the setting is indicated by a single sentence: "The judge commenced by interrogating the owner-manager." The characters' dialogue recounts action that took place on the road with a traveling circus, and the death of Han's wife occurred on the circus stage in front of a large audience.

What is most striking about the setting in "Han's Crime," however, is its absence. The setting provides no clues about historical period (is it modern day? medieval?) or place (is it Japan? urban? rural?) or about any larger social context (what socioeconomic class are Han and his wife? What is the prevailing social opinion on divorce, infanticide, or wife-murdering?). The lack of many explicit details in setting the story allows an allegorical reading in which Han represents a sort of "everyman" who is...