A Tale for the Time Being

    When Nao finds her father after his second suicide attempt, he has left a note. At first she does not want 

to read it because she is afraid whether or not she looks at the note will determine if her father lives or 

dies. She thinks, "If I read this note and he is already dead, then I will know that he was serious this time 

and really meant to die, and it was my fault for being harsh and mean to him. And if he isn't already dead, 

then reading the note might kill him, and it will still be my fault," (Ozeki 283). Although she does not 

know it at the time, Nao is afraid of the very same physics theory that is described by Schrodinger's cat. 

When she holds that note in her hands her father could either be alive or dead. She believes acting upon 

the note will make one of those things true. Quantum physicists would say that when Nao opens the letter 

and her father is alive, there is another world where she opens the letter and her father is dead. 
   
     Nao says that her thinking in this moment makes no logical sense, but to a quantum physicist it would. 

She is also riddled with guilt, as if she is the one who fed her father all of those pills, but it is not her fault. 

Guilt and shame are large themes in the novel, and Nao likely adopted her propensity to believe 

everything is her fault from her father. He is wracked with guilt after 9/11 because he knows the 

American soldiers will be using technology he developed to kill people in the Middle East. Haruki #2 did 

everything he could to stop it, though. He has nothing to feel shame about; he acted in an honorable way. 

The many worlds theory is likely a comfort to Nao, her father, and people like them. If something went 

wrong in this world, you can be certain there are a plethora of other worlds where things are going right. 

By introducing the multiple worlds theory, Ozeki wants her audience to know that they should not allow 

shame or guilt to stop them from living. We can acknowledge our mistakes and make amends for the past, 

but we must keep going forward so that we do not get stuck. The worlds keep spinning on, with or without

us, but it is much better if we are along for the ride. 

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