58 pages • 1-hour read
The Devotion of Suspect X
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of domestic abuse, gender discrimination, suicidal ideation and self-harm, attempted death by suicide, graphic violence, and death.
The Morality of Love and Self-Sacrifice
This theme examines the lengths to which a person will go for those they love, drawing attention to the fact that in such cases, love can warp one’s sense of morality. Simultaneously, the novel also explores the moral implications of love itself, particularly when that love becomes a burden to its recipient. These dynamics are primarily illustrated through the characters of Ishigami and Yasuko. For instance, Ishigami’s love for Yasuko and even Misato motivates every choice he makes. The narrative portrays his love as pure and selfless; it is inspired by the moment they first met, when Yasuko and Misato’s arrival unwittingly saved him from an attempted suicide. Though Yasuko never learns the circumstances that inspired his love, this emotion becomes all-encompassing for Ishigami, just like his love for mathematics.
Because Ishigami believes his love to be pure and untainted by the need for reciprocation, he also believes that any action made in the name of that love is likewise untainted, even when he commits murder. Through Ishigami’s choices, the narrative demonstrates that such an intense form of love and devotion can warp a person’s sense of right and wrong, leading them to rationalize any action, no matter how morally reprehensible. Ishigami knows that his actions are wrong in the eyes of the legal system, which is why he works so hard to hide them; however, he does not believe himself to be in the wrong when it comes to the deeper level of morality. Although certain ambiguous actions suggest that he may feel some guilt (as in Chapter 19, when he describes the darkness that fills his heart), he explicitly declares that he does not regret his decision, believing that his murderous actions and his self-sacrifice will have been worth the cost—as long as Yasuko is happy.
However, through the character of Yasuko, the narrative also questions the morality of love itself. First, Yasuko fears that Ishigami’s sacrifice is transactional and that he expects something significant from her in return. She wonders if his help makes her obligated to him for the rest of her life, such that she even fears dating Kudo, surmising that it may constitute a betrayal to Ishigami and cause her to lose his support. This moment highlights one of the moral problems of love: the assumed obligations of reciprocity in the face of such intense devotion and sacrifice. The narrative then flips this question by demonstrating the genuinely selfless nature of Ishigami’s love for Yasuko. He has no expectations that she will love him back, believing that “to seek any kind of acknowledgement would sully” the very “dignity” (291) of his love and sacrifice.
Instead, the narrative suggests that love and sacrifice become harmful burdens to Yasuko, given that Ishigami commits an atrocity in the service of that love. Yasuko reflects that the weight of Ishigami’s devotion and sacrifice is more than she can carry. The knowledge of his actions feels like “a crime in and of itself” (283)—one that taints her. This issue is made even more immediate by Misato’s act of self-harm. In response, Yasuko determines that her only option is to turn herself in and reclaim her burden of responsibility, thereby lessening the burden of Ishigami’s sacrifice. However, even in the final moments, the narrative remains ambivalent about the moral implications of Ishigami’s actions. The ending does not focus on the idea that Yasuko’s confession serves the interests of justice; instead, the last details of the novel make it clear that her decision to turn herself in has erased the one good thing that could possibly come from Ishigami’s actions. Thus, the novel implies that it would have been better for Yasuko to carry the burden of his sacrifice.
Navigating Imperfect Justice and Moral Ambiguity
The second major theme examines the differing views of justice and morality, which extend beyond simple definitions of right and wrong. This theme is embodied by Ishigami, Yasuko, Kusanagi, and Yukawa in a variety of different ways. Through the characters’ internal thoughts and feelings, dialogue, and actions, the author presents markedly differing views of justice and morality, but the conclusion of the narrative implicitly delivers certain value judgments as to which views of justice are to be preferred.
Several key views are presented early in the narrative, when Togashi is murdered. In the aftermath of this pivotal event, Misato claims that Togashi’s death is his own fault and that Yasuko should not be punished for it, but Yasuko flatly states, “[M]urder is murder. Everything else is just details” (24). Similarly, the minor conflict between Kusanagi and Yukawa explores these two contrasting views of justice. As a police detective, Kusanagi’s definition of justice is largely defined by the legal system. He, like Yasuko, would argue that murder is always morally wrong. It is his job to discover the perpetrator of the crime and bring them to justice, no matter the circumstances or motivations. Thus, he and Yasuko both hold a very uncompromising definition of right and wrong.
Yukawa, on the other hand, implies that intention matters. He never states this explicitly, but his actions suggest it, as when he proves unwilling to share his suspicions with Kusanagi and holds the belief that Yasuko should not turn herself in at the end. These moments indicate that Yukawa’s view of morality is based not only on legality but also on extenuating circumstances; this view renders the concept of justice itself morally ambiguous. Though Yukawa does not claim that Togashi deserved death, he does acknowledge that the circumstances surrounding the man’s death are complex, and the narrative also suggests that he sees Yasuko’s actions as justifiable, or at least forgivable.
Similarly, Ishigami’s behavior suggests moral flexibility on several levels. His motivations indicate that questions of right and wrong can be subordinate to issues of love and loyalty. Because he wishes to save Yasuko, the woman he loves, any action that he takes to in service of that goal is justified in his mind. At the same time, however, Ishigami’s decision to murder the Engineer is predicated on his mathematical view of the world, in which morality is not determined by emotional or social conventions, nor by the value of life or the harm inflicted on a person. Instead, Ishigami believes that right and wrong is dictated merely by what is most logical and efficient. This amoral view allows him to commit atrocities without remorse, because he believes his actions to be justified.
Through the thoughts and behaviors of each character, the narrative thus demonstrates that justice and morality are difficult to define and highly contingent on each person’s worldview. However, the novel’s conclusion offers an implicit value judgment on these competing views and indicates the author’s alignment with Yukawa’s stance, particularly as this character’s argument extends from questions of justice to questions of the inherent worth of human beings. Yukawa’s complex stance—that Ishigami’s murder of the Engineer is unforgivable even as Yasuko’s murder of Togashi may be defensible—indicates that the line between right and wrong is dependent upon the circumstances and motivations behind each person’s individual actions. However, Yukawa simultaneously holds that there are certain basic beliefs—such as the value of human life—upon which morality should be built and by which right and wrong can be judged.
The Inherent Worth of Individuals
This theme materializes late in the novel, but it is nonetheless vital to the broader meaning of the narrative. Emerging organically from the plot, this theme offers a specific approach to navigating imperfect justice and moral ambiguity. In this context, the discussion of Ishigami’s logical approach to life marks the first point at which the novel examines the question of a person’s inherent worth. Specifically, Yukawa implies that Ishigami’s penchant for viewing the world as a series of mathematical equations could potentially make it easy for him to commit murder because this stance allows him to reduce human beings to faceless variables. Such a view of life suggests a level of moral flexibility that is at odds with societal norms and the criminal justice system.
In contrast, Yukawa’s symbol of cogs becomes the primary vehicle through which he argues that each individual holds an inherent value in an objective system that cannot be dictated or erased by any other. In the final chapters, Yukawa presents this argument to Ishigami and later to Kusanagi, stating that the world has need of every single “cog” (i.e., every single person), no matter how superfluous or meaningless they may appear. Through Yukawa, the narrative thus argues that the inherent worth of each person is a stable constant at the foundation of morality, by which one’s actions can be judged. It is by this constant that Yukawa judges Ishigami’s actions.
Crucially, as seen in the previous themes, Ishigami’s actions and motivations are neither wholly wrong nor wholly right, and Yukawa’s belief in a person’s inherent value does not eradicate the complexity and ambiguity of morality itself. For instance, Yukawa implies that Togashi’s death is less morally repugnant than the engineer’s. He does not state this outright, but his belief that Yasuko should be permitted to escape punishment implies the existence of a value judgment on his part. However, that is not to say that Togashi’s death is deserved. According to Yukawa’s logic, Togashi still has value as a “cog” in the system. Yet his death occurs in a moment of crisis and self-defense; it is impulsive, not premeditated, and Yasuko only kills him in accordance with her maternal need to save her child. In this light, although the murder of Togashi is still portrayed as wrong, Yukawa’s response suggests that he feels a deep sense of ambivalence, given the circumstances. By contrast, Ishigami’s decision to murder the Engineer is more clearly portrayed as wrong because he acts in a calculated manner. In essence, he makes a conscious decision to erase the Engineer’s value as a human being, merely because he callously determines that an unhoused person has less importance in the system and will not be missed. To Yukawa, Ishigami’s chain of reasoning is unforgivable, and this is why he decides to reveal Ishigami’s crime but hesitates to reveal Yasuko’s.
Unlock every key theme and why it matters
Get in-depth breakdowns of the book’s main ideas and how they connect and evolve.
- Explore how themes develop throughout the text
- Connect themes to characters, events, and symbols
- Support essays and discussions with thematic evidence