This thesis explores the motivations of the protagonists of two love suicide puppet plays written by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon: Sonezaki Shinjū and Shinjū Ten no Amijima. Using...Show moreThis thesis explores the motivations of the protagonists of two love suicide puppet plays written by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon: Sonezaki Shinjū and Shinjū Ten no Amijima. Using sociological and (socio)psychological theories - primarily the socioemotional theory of suicide by Seth Abrutyn and Anna Mueller - it seeks to expand on the psychological level of interpretation that traditionally tends to use the giri/ninjō dichotomy. The thesis concludes that the protagonists are motivated by love and suicide suggestion to die together, although the suicide itself is rather the result of a perceived lack of control, the failure of social performance and the influence of negative social emotions.Show less
