Chapter VI
Conclusion
From the foregoing examination several observations might be made by way of conclusion. Let us first observe what Katai could have learned from Einsame Menschen and to what extent he applied this new knowledge when writing Futon. By and large our observations lead us to believe that Katai successfully adopted in Futon a type of theme very similar to that of Einsame Menschen, namely, the eternal human problem of the conflict between human nature and man-made traditions. At the same time, we also noted that Katai did not employ this theme of Hauptmann's exactly in the same sense as that used in Einsame Menschen. Katai's characters, who are to be the vehicles of his theme, are Japanese whose problems would be naturally different from those of Hauptmann's characters in Germany; therefore, it became clear when we had completed our analysis that the final theme for Futon led to the following: "How can love discriminate between a mentor and his pupil?"
The comparative character analysis between Einsame Menschen and Futon establishes that Katai did not, in all respects, model his main character, Tokio, after Johannes, nor did he patternhis heroine, Yoshiko, after Anna, as Dr. Nakamura mentions.[1] Our examination further shows that Tokio and Yoshiko were partially patterned after Johannes and Anna respectively, and surprisingly enough it would appear that it is rather Johannes' wife Käthe with whom Tokio's personality is in accord and not Johannes.[2] This analysis has been carried out in Chapter IV, under section 2 and there is, I believe, no need for further examination.
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