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I have a question about the nuance of わね in the below song lyric (from 衛星カフェテラス):

あのさ、もし意識思考そのものが自律して

　

この体を逃れたなら (意識は自律して?　興味深いわね)

I was thinking that this was implying that the matter being 'deep' was being felt by the speaker, as in:

That's really deep!

However there is a doubt as to whether this actually refers to the speaker talking about the other person's interest (who she is singing together with), as in:

You’re really interested in that, huh?

Whose 'interest' is being referred to in this phrase?

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This 興味深いわね is just "That's interesting" or more specifically, "This '意識思考そのものが自律して...' is an interesting assumption." わね is a feminine sentence-end particle which does not necessarily have to be translated, but it's for seeking agreement; "huh?" or "isn't it?"

興味深い never means someone is interested. For example, 彼は興味深い always means "He is an interesting person" rather than "He is interested (in something)." 彼は(～に)興味がある and 彼は(～に)興味を持っている are the expressions that mean "He is interested (in ～)."

  • 興味深いわね。 That (such an assumption) is interesting.
  • 興味があるわね。 I am interested in that.
  • 興味があるのね。 So you're interested in that.
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  • Is using ～がる possible here? Like 彼は興味深がっている to mean something close to "he is interested"? – Christer Aug 11 '17 at 22:56
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    @Christer No, we do not say 興味深がる. – naruto Aug 12 '17 at 2:39
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  • あのさ、もし意識思考そのものが自律して　この体を逃れたなら (Sung by Mary)
  • 意識は自律して?　興味深いわね (Sung by Renko)

わね indicates that the speaker is a woman.

わ indicates that the speaker is female.

ね is used for the emphasis.

  • 興味深い　（It's interesting.）
  • 興味深いね (It's interesting!, or It's interesting, isn't it?)
  • 興味深いわ (It's interesting. And this is said by a woman.)
  • 興味深いわね（It's really interesting. And this is said by a woman.)

You may know that the Japanese colloquial language has masculine wording and feminine wording. And わね is the latter.

Well, I explained a usual/normal explanation thus far. I mean "a usual interpretation without sarcasm."

However, sarcasm changes everything.

Whose interest does「興味深いわね」refer to?

The interpretation may be tricky. If it is sarcasm, it is translated as "Consciousness being independent? You’re really interested in that, huh." https://sterngazer.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/sci-fi-romance-traveler-%E6%9A%81records/

If it is sarcasm, it is said by Renko, and it is Mary's interest.

If it is not sarcasm, it is said by Renko, and it is Renko's interest: "Consciousness being independent? Cool! It's interesting (for me too)!."

I'd vote one for sarcastic interpretation because of the whole lyrics.

The わね has nothing to do with the determination whether it's sarcasm or not. Only the whole context and the tone of the voice are the key to decide which.

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  • Thanks for the comment. Ironically, the post you mentioned is the reason I decided to create this post (: So quoting that line is sort of a circular discussion. – Locksleyu Aug 11 '17 at 17:56
  • I knew. So I answered. Again, my answer is this: It is not the Japanese grammar of the わね to decide whether it's sarcasm of not. It depends on the context and the tone of the voice. I thought it would be your help. – user1118 Aug 11 '17 at 18:04
  • I added a link to the youtube video in original post if you want to listen to it. I don't detect any sarcasm, personally. – Locksleyu Aug 11 '17 at 18:29
  • Thank you for the video. According to the original quote, I thought the tone was sarcastic. However, when I listened to the video, I wasn't able to detect any sarcasm as you said. Or I could hardly hear the second singer's voice. I couldn't even understand what was sung. haha. Therefore, going back to your original question, I'd like to say the two interpretation are both possible. – user1118 Aug 11 '17 at 22:40

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