羅生門 — why does the servant's morality flip so fast at the end?

Question

羅生門 by 芥川龍之介 — the servant goes from horrified at the old woman pulling hair from corpses to robbing her himself within a few lines, using her own logic to justify it. Is this sudden or is Akutagawa building to it earlier in the text in ways I might have missed reading at N3 level?

Accepted Answer

It's set up earlier than it feels on a first N3-level pass — the opening paragraphs establish he's ALREADY wavering between 盗人になるより仕方がない (nothing left but to become a thief) and hesitating out of残った良心 (leftover conscience). The old woman's self-justifying speech doesn't create his new morality out of nothing, it just gives him the excuse/permission he was already looking for. Worth a reread of the first third once you know the ending — the servant's 'flip' is really the last domino, not the first.