Lindsay Renco answers “I don't get why Noa killed himself after...”

Shaily asked this question about Pachinko:

I don't get why Noa killed himself after his mother's visit. Did it remind him of his ancestry? Earlier we learn that he doesn't want his wife and kids to know he's Korean to keep them safe, so then why kill yourself and leave them without a father?

Lindsay Renco I think he knew, or at least believed, that his mother would never let him go. The book had just been discussing Sunja’s feelings on motherhood, how i…moreI think he knew, or at least believed, that his mother would never let him go. The book had just been discussing Sunja’s feelings on motherhood, how it had been her entire life. She couldn’t restrain herself when she saw him, and ran out of the car. She wouldn’t let go the idea of visiting. She would give away his secret and his life would crumble, inevitably. His family would loose him anyways and his children would be marked as a foreigners.

It also reminded me of Sunja’s exchange with Hansu when she told him she was pregnant and realized she had gotten that way by a married man. She told him if he came anywhere near her again, she would kill herself. They both held so tightly to their principals and felt such deep shame for their perceived wrongness, that they couldn’t tolerate others knowing, and the further shame that would bring them.

I think it made sense, but it still makes me mad.(less)

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Nathan Gavenski And I think this argument is strong in the sense that Noa thinks that being a forgneir is somehow worse than his family being marked as a suicidal one ...more
Jun 06, 2023 12:08PM

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