A parallel between canonical western works of literature and underlying themes in Hanada Keika’s classic visual novel The House in Fata Morgana.
Since the dawn of time, humanity has yearned for the sheer and unrivaled beauty of pure love, for a romance that transcends existence itself. The classical pinnacle of such works is of course Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the legendary love story that has defined the genre across human culture for centuries to come. In Fata Morgana’s first door, the reader is presented with a shining tribute to this history, an allegorical interpretation that develops and elaborates on the traditional Shakespearian themes, and yet also stunningly conveys an original outlook on these fundamental ideas.
As the reader well knows, Romeo and Juliet is a tale of love across societal boundaries, of abandoning the deeply ingrained beliefs held by all others for their one true love, and the play culminates in them sacrificing the sanctity of life itself for this singular, superlative idea. This is in acute parallel to Nellie’s passionate, possessed focus on her love for Mell, transcending not just societal expectations upon the noble class but the fundamental sin of familial incest itself. She adores and worships Shakespeare’s themes, seeking to live out his beautifully crafted story within the bounds of her own confined existence, to abandon all she has for her beloved brother.
The sheer purity of her beliefs is highlighted with the continuous symbolism of her rose garden, inspiring memories of Romeo’s rose, for it is not physical objects she treasures but the inherent meaning evoked by the association with her feelings for Mell, as Juliet once did before her. But as she seeks to fulfill her heartfelt dreams past the barrier of societal expectations, she faces the unexpected threat, not the external oppression that Juliet suffered under but the internal conflict presented by Nell’s changing feelings. This contrast highlights an alternate focus not presented by the classical play, of facing not just the world but yourself, of looking to reality rather than ideals, of embracing the visceral beauty of a true romance over the pale mirage of Shakespeare’s perfect love.
A similar allegory can be presented alongside the second door, with Villeneuve’s time-adorned fairy tale La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast). Here the true love is portrayed as between a stunningly pretty girl and a hideous monster, about overcoming the implicit expectations on physical appearance for fulfilling the feelings flourishing in your heart. But while a beautiful tale of hope and wonder, Keika further develops the symbolic concept of the “beast” in a marvelous use of thematic parallel, highlighting not the monstrosity of our visage but the monstrosity in our heart.
Every human is faced with overwhelming urges, to seek pleasure and freedom, to fulfill their innermost desires beyond all cost. It is the mark of society, the foundation of modern civilisation to overcome the “beast” within ourselves and to live a life of love and of co-existence. By portraying Villeneuve’s beast’s struggle with these animalistic instincts, Keika further builds on the idea of true love conquering oneself’s lesser emotions for the belief in a brighter future, for the dream of a peaceful life by the beachside.
And it is this underlying idea that leads into the third door’s parallel with Dicken’s classic novel, A Christmas Carol. Jacopo’s character clearly inspires reminiscence of the infamous Scrooge, a selfish personality obsessed with wealth and riches, with success and power, uncaring for the suffering of lesser folk before his path. Indeed, both Scrooge and Jacopo suffer the loss of romantic satisfaction as they turn a blind eye to such matters in their greed and selfishness, and eventually Dickens shows the true meaning of the starving, slaving poor and the need for kindness and heart in one’s life.
Now these same themes are of course present in Fata Morgana, but Keika goes above and beyond, passionately focusing on the fundamental idea of love within the overarching allegory. To Jacopo what is truly important is not the unknown starving children on his doorstep, not the nameless worker slaving away on his railroads, but the wife he loves beyond all else. The conclusive idea of abandoning selfishness and meaningless wealth is the same, but the level of love, the level of pure wonder in Jacopo’s life upon embracing a kinder existence is fundamentally different. While Dickens employs the Steinbeckian technique of focusing on a single starving child among millions for emotional effect, Keika deftly adds the touch of visual novel narrative to evoke a rawer, deeper, more heartfelt depiction of the themes portrayed.
Finally, we delve into the most influential and powerful work of literature in Western canon, the Bible. The final door and Morgana’s life is a re-interpretation of the birth and life of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah foretold in Christian mythology. In the ancient and traditional scriptures, Jesus was conceived to a virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, prophesied to bring health to the sick, food to the starving, peace to the lands and love to our world.
Keika traces her interpretation of Jesus in Morgana, a girl said to be born to a virgin mother, said to call upon life-bringing rain to the fields and said to grant life to the believing. But in her harsh reality, there are no heavenly miracles and no divine blessings, there is no blind faith and no all-powerful religion. In this way, Morgana’s worldview is torn apart as she comes to terms with the lie of saintliness and the cruelty of humanity, and as she loses all she once believed in she is born anew with her common, earthly, oh so real love for a peasant boy. And thus she finds meaning in life, not in the hollow promises of God but in the everyday life amongst equals, in the raw emotions of human love.
Hence Fata Morgana can be interpreted as a rejection of Christianity, of a defiant appeal against the concept of divine fate. Our characters believe in each other and in themselves, in the sheer nobility of the human spirit to seek a brighter tomorrow against all odds. Faith in religion brings not salvation and not hope, but rather naught but an empty void of loss and despair as one comes to terms with their lies, and it is through the power of interpersonal belief that we overcome these struggles and stand forth. Fata Morgana is a true epic of pure love, of a belief in the sanctity of romance and the human heart, of its importance above all else and of purely believing in one’s emotions, of valuing what is truly meaningful in our fleeting lives and of striving with all one’s might to bring about the happiness of tomorrow. It is an ode to the brilliance of the human race.
