Keiko and Niki’s Unequal Sisterhood

A Pale View of Hills

Niki’s memories of Keiko move between distance, guilt, and a recognition of how little she understood her sister’s life.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Sister Not Remembered A Sister Not Remembered from "A Pale View of Hills". Distance After Death A painful absence Niki says she nearly attended Keiko’s funeral, but did not know how to explain her feelings to other people.

A Sister Not Remembered from "A Pale View of Hills". Distance After Death A painful absence Niki says she nearly attended Keiko’s funeral, but did not know how to explain her feelings to other people.

Distance After Death A painful absence Niki says she nearly attended Keiko’s funeral, but did not know how to explain her feelings to other people. She remembers Keiko chiefly as someone who made her miserable and admits that she can no longer picture her face. A bond left undefined Her words suggest a relationship with little intimacy, yet her sadness at the death is genuine. The distance between the sisters complicates any simple distinction between indifference and grief.

The Closed Door Remembered The Closed Door Remembered from "A Pale View of Hills". Life Behind the Door A household divided Keiko shuts herself away in her bedroom, forbidding family members to enter and emerging mainly to collect food.

The Closed Door Remembered from "A Pale View of Hills". Life Behind the Door A household divided Keiko shuts herself away in her bedroom, forbidding family members to enter and emerging mainly to collect food.

Life Behind the Door A household divided Keiko shuts herself away in her bedroom, forbidding family members to enter and emerging mainly to collect food. Niki and the rest of the household grow used to a sister whose private life remains inaccessible. Conflict as contact When Keiko does come downstairs, arguments often follow. The family’s accommodation of her isolation helps explain why Niki later remembers hostility more clearly than shared affection.

The Funeral Question The Funeral Question from "A Pale View of Hills". A Missing Presence Family history tested Niki asks whether Keiko attended her father’s funeral, although she knows the answer.

The Funeral Question from "A Pale View of Hills". A Missing Presence Family history tested Niki asks whether Keiko attended her father’s funeral, although she knows the answer.

A Missing Presence Family history tested Niki asks whether Keiko attended her father’s funeral, although she knows the answer. Etsuko asks whether Niki stayed away from Keiko’s funeral in return, and rebukes her for treating grief like a score to settle. A sister’s account Niki insists Keiko was never part of her or her father’s life. Her defense may be honest, but it also protects her from explaining why the death continues to trouble her.

The Sleepless Daughter The Sleepless Daughter from "A Pale View of Hills". Uneasy Reflection A late concern Niki says that her father should have looked after Keiko more.

The Sleepless Daughter from "A Pale View of Hills". Uneasy Reflection A late concern Niki says that her father should have looked after Keiko more.

Uneasy Reflection A late concern Niki says that her father should have looked after Keiko more. She calls the neglect unfair, even though she earlier described her sister as absent from their lives. Guilt without certainty The concern does not resolve what Niki knew or what she might have done differently. Her sleeplessness and troubled dreams suggest that her distance from Keiko has not protected her from feeling implicated.

A Face in the Dream A Face in the Dream from "A Pale View of Hills". An Unaccepted Identification Niki’s interpretation Niki says the little girl in Etsuko’s recurring dream must be Keiko.

A Face in the Dream from "A Pale View of Hills". An Unaccepted Identification Niki’s interpretation Niki says the little girl in Etsuko’s recurring dream must be Keiko.

An Unaccepted Identification Niki’s interpretation Niki says the little girl in Etsuko’s recurring dream must be Keiko. She tries to connect the image of a child in the park with the dead sister whose life neither of them can fully discuss. Etsuko’s refusal Etsuko denies that the dream concerns Keiko and describes the girl as someone she knew long ago. The exchange leaves the sisters’ shared history present but unnamed.

during Niki’s conversation with Etsuko in April

in Niki’s childhood, before Keiko leaves home

during the third day of Niki’s visit

the final morning of Niki’s visit

near the end of the visit, after Etsuko recounts her dream