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Literature in The Shell Part II

By Stella

Here comes part two of the same guide I did for the first part - For literature lovers; a list of all the books & authors I have found mentioned in this visual novel!

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Stella
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Category: Secrets, Story or Lore

Languages: English

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Updated

20 Apr, 2024 @ 2:22pm

3 May, 2024 @ 1:55pm

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Guide Index

Overview

literature mentioned & how it matches to The Shell

Comments

literature mentioned & how it matches to The Shell

The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri

One of the most important works here - as we have three parts of KnS because of that. It's the main core of this visual novel. 'Inferno' , refers to the second part of The Divine Comedy too. Abandon all hope, ye wo enter here.
Also I observed that Reiji kind of pursues Toko like Dante with Beatrice... my heart.

" The poem discusses "the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward", and describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's journey towards God, beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (Inferno), followed by the penitent Christian life (Purgatorio), which is then followed by the soul's ascent to God (Paradiso). Dante draws on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas "
Goethe's Faust

"Goethe’s Faust reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant scholar so disillusioned he resolves to make a contract with Mephistopheles. The devil will do all he asks on Earth and seeks to grant him a moment in life so glorious that he will wish it to last forever. But if Faust does bid the moment stay, he falls to Mephistopheles and must serve him after death. In this first part of Goethe’s great work, the embittered thinker and Mephistopheles enter into their agreement, and soon Faust is living a rejuvenated life and winning the love of the beautiful Gretchen. But in this compelling tragedy of arrogance, unfulfilled desire, and self-delusion, Faust heads inexorably toward an infernal destruction."
Motojiro Kaiji works

Slightly mentioned with that reference:
There are dead bodies buried under the cherry trees! It's true, I swear. How else could they flower that beautifully?
Freud's psychoanalytic theories

I find interesting that this is mentioned, because it involves themes as religion & self-beliefs which ties to our mind, and I think that it is explored with some characters on the game.
It goes like that: "The psychodynamic approach to psychology, which looks to unconscious drives to explain human behavior. Freud believed that the mind is responsible for both conscious and unconscious decisions that it makes on the basis of psychological drives. The id, ego, and super-ego are three aspects of the mind Freud believed to comprise a person's personality. Freud believed people are "simply actors in the drama of [their] own minds, pushed by desire, pulled by coincidence. Underneath the surface, our personalities represent the power struggle going on deep within us".
Ariwara no Narihira

Ariwara no Narihira was a Japanese courtier and waka poet of the early Heian period. Narihira's poems are exceptionally ambiguous and his renowned love affairs have exerted a profound influence on later Japanese culture.
Edgar Allan Poe

So happy to see one of my faves mentioned!
An American writer, poet, author, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre.
Souvenirs entomologiques

A study on insects.. not much to say here
Hyakunin Isshu - A hundred verses from old Japan

This is a collection of 100 specimens of Japanese Tanka poetry collected in the 13th Century C.E., with some of the poems dating back to the 7th Centry. Tanka is a 31 syllable format in the pattern 5-7-5-7-7. Most of these poems were written about the time of the Norman Conquest and display a sophistication that western literature would not achieve for a long time thereafter. These little gems are on themes such as nature, the round of the seasons, the impermanence of life, and the vicissitudes of love. There are obvious Buddhist and Shinto influences throughout.

2 Comments

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Origenality 9 Jun, 2024 @ 8:49pm

It's worth noting that Edgar Allen Poe is only mentioned in the Shiravune English translation. (At least that's what my ear tells me.) He's a cultural touch point, since most English readers would be unfamiliar with Japanese acrostic or iroha poetry.

You are also missing all of the authors mentioned during the January 5 location choice of Kichijoji Station: Osamu Dazai's Otogizoshi, Akutagawa, Kuroiwa, Saburo Koga, and the Heike Monogatari (which Kohane mistakenly believes was authored by Ono no Imoko).

Stella [author] 20 Apr, 2024 @ 2:23pm

This is a work in progress as i'm currently reading it; also no spoilers here.

Check out the guide for the first game, if you feel like it please!

: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3136903279

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