The Face of Another Read Online Free PDF Page B

Or perhaps I was beginning to feel slightly jealous of the fact that my sister was trying to make herself attractive
.
    Incidentally, one more thing—I read once in some newspaper or review a strangely thought-provoking article about a Korean with Japanese blood, who in order to look more like a Korean went to the trouble of undergoing plastic surgery. This was clearly a stress on facial restoration, but it could never be said the man was implicated in prejudice. In the final analysis, I realized I hadn’t comprehended a single thing. If the opportunity presented itself, I should really like very much to hear what kind of advice the Korean would give someone like me who had lost his face
.
    Finally, I tired of this soliloquy about a face, this soliloquy that made no progress. But there was no particular reason, either, to abandon the plans that I had been at pains to begin. I began to devote close attention to technical observations.
    The artificial finger had extremely interesting aspects. The more I looked at it, the more I appreciated the fine points of its construction. It expressed as much as an actual finger to me. From the tension of the skin, I should suppose it was the finger of a person aged about thirty. A flat nail, squashed areas on the sides, deep wrinkles in the joints, four small cuts in a row like shark’s gills. It probably belonged to a person engaged in light handwork.
    Yet, why was it so ugly? Repulsive! A kind of special unsavoriness, neither of the dead nor of the living. No, apparently nothing had gone wrong. Was it rather that the reconstruction was too faithful? (If so, that would be true of my mask too.) So, it could be that if one clung too closely to reality, the result might well be far from realistic. It may be all right to be particular about faces, but first take a look at this ugliness!
    It is quite true, of course, that an accurate copy may actually be unrealistic. However, could you conceive of a formless finger? A snake without length, a pot without volume, a triangle without angles? Unless such things exist on another planet, they are not to be seen with one’s eyes. If they were, even a face without expression wouldn’t be exceptional. Even if such a face did sometimes occur, it could hardly be a face. Indeed, masks have this much
raison d’être
.
    Then, the problem may lie in the physical element. First of all, it would be curious to speak of a form that couldn’t move as one’s person. If this finger could only move, it would look much better. As an experiment, I picked it up and tried working it. It did in fact seem more realistic than when it had been standing on the table. So there was no need worrying over that point. Thus I insisted from the beginning that mine must be a mask that moved.
    But I was still somehow dissatisfied. What in heaven’s name could be the cause of such Concern? I focused all myattention, comparing the artificial member with my own finger. There definitely was a difference, but.… Suppose it was not the fault of its being severed, nor the problem of movement. Could it be the quality of the skin? I wonder. Perhaps. There was a characteristic difference that could not be masked simply by form or color.
    M ARGINALIA I:
On the feel of skin. Human skin seems to be protected by a transparent matter having no pigmentation. Is not the look of skin, accordingly, one of complex interaction between the light rays reflected from the surface and those which, having passed through this surface, are again reflected from the pigment? This effect was not obtained in the case of the molded finger, since the pigment was directly on the surface
.
    Inquire of a specialist about the composition and optical properties of this transparent matter in the skin
.
    M ARGINALIA II:
Important subjects for investigation: wear of the material, elasticity and flexibility, fixing process, procedure with the edge line, ventilation, procurement of the model, and general