Introduction: Blood Feast Under the Tower of Babel

Honobu Yonezawa tears apart the glamorous fabric of high society to reveal the maggots beneath. Five interconnected stories revolve around the "Babel Society," exposing how elite women transform from victims into perpetrators—Fuko poisons her maid to avoid a book club

; Tamao Isuzu burns an infant for "honor" . These extremes metaphorize modernity’s core dilemma: when individual value is hijacked by external standards, humanity descends into darkness.

I. Identity Cage: Self-Annihilation in Master-Servant Dynamics

Fuko must maintain her "perfect heiress" persona, hiding detective novels in a secret bookshelf

. Her repression culminates in murdering Yūhi—an eradication of her "old self." This fragmentation intensifies today: professional personas, curated social media identities, and familial role-playing... multiple masks crush the authentic self. As stated: "Fuko became the center of the Danshima family, yet also its loneliest prisoner" .

II. Moral Vacuum: When Loyalty Becomes a Weapon

Tamao Isuzu’s tragedy lies in absolutizing her master’s words. Junka’s cooking rhyme—"never lift the lid even if the baby cries"—twists into an infanticide mandate

. This mirrors modern alienation: employees falsify data for KPIs; corporations destroy ecosystems for profit... instrumental rationality devours value rationality, reducing humans to "loyal monsters."

III. Trauma Cycle: The Genetic Code of Hatred

Nameyo carries her mother’s dying words—"take back what he owes me"—to poison Kotarō

. Such intergenerational trauma manifests today in family shadows, cultural prejudices, or political conflicts. Kotarō’s posthumous painting (using color-changing pigments to expose the killer) suggests trauma can only end through creative expression (e.g., art therapy) .

Conclusion: Rebuilding a Spiritual Home on Feast Ruins

The novel ends with Babel Society ghosts reappearing in moonlit ruins

, implying pathological collectivism never dies. Yet Yonezawa plants hope: Yūhi once felt warmth reading Heidiin Fuko’s secret shelf . This reminds us—in an absurd world, literature and self-reflection are the final bastions against alienation.