Difference ところで…のである。 and のである。


> ところでその蕎麦を受け取ったときの会話で、くまとわたしとは満更赤の他人というわけでもないことがわかったのである。

This sentence is from a book well-known to many learners of Japanese, a
compilation of Japanese short stories. It comes with partial translations and
grammar notes by the editor. This story is 川上弘美の神様. But I'm not convinced by
either the translation or the grammar note. The translation says

  * ところで _At any rate_
  * わかったのである **it became clear**

The grammar note says that

"のである makes the statement preceding it more emphatic _and sets us up for the
paragraphs that follow_. [It] **often lends an explanatory feel to the
sentence it ends; here, it indicates that the narrator has reached a
conclusion** , and _that the evidence on which that conclusion is based is
about to be presented_. [...]"

(In **bold** are the parts that I "agree" with, in _italics_ my disagreement)

I've never heard that のである by itself announces anything about to be said.
Quite on the contrary, I've always seen it as a way to **explain** the
situation.

On top of that, translating ところで as "at any rate" makes sense in context
(indeed, that sentence is the transition from the narrator wondering how
considerate a bear offering soba to their neighbors might feel obligated to
be, considering they're a bear, to how they themself learnt they are related
to that bear.), but is weird and seems over-translated. It is supposed to be
"by the way", literally "(this) (place/situation) (and)...".

So I'm wondering if, actually, ところで and わかったのである, put together, take some
particular meaning.




I think you are right.

The feel _that the evidence on which that conclusion is based is about to be
presented_ comes more from ところで, which is _by the way_ typically and in this
case too.

ところで indicates the writer will change the topic. Just saying くま and わたし are
not total strangers is odd in terms of story telling and readers will expect
that there's more about it, which (I guess) is why it gives the above
connotation. Also, the feel won't change if it ends わかった/わかったのだ etc.

So it is more about semantics/pragmatics rather than syntax of ところで.

