손창섭 문학의 자연주의적 고찰 - 장편소설 <길>을 중심으로

Abstract

This study is about Son Chang-seop’s “Gil”[a way] which is very important novel in the author’s late period of literary works. “Gil” was a popular serial novel in a newspaper, and it has been studied as an initiation novel or a novel of manners in various directions. In fact, “Gil” contains many characteristics from some different genres, for this reason, this work has a lot of choices in interpretation. I tried to read this novel in a new way that is naturalism, because first, Son Chang-seop and his literature show the characteristics of naturalism, a literary trend of 19th century Europe, in most of his writings; second, naturalism can embraces all the trends in existing studies on “Gil”; third, the naturalism offers a more comprehensive and orderly vision about “Gil”. Therefore, this essay read “Gil” from three perspectives; the city as an environment, human nature as an animal instinct, and the tension between the character's desires and the author's experiments. By analysing the novel “Gil” with naturalism, it was able to find out the shielded part of the work and gain a new understanding. “Gil” was written in the naturalistic premise; human beings are just as instinctive as animals and under the control of the environment and Darwinism. This kind of idea is similar to the author Son’s value of ‘affirmation of corruption for existence’, and the main character of the story, ‘Sung-chil’ shows the spirit of tragedy that denies compliance and resignation of the environment and fate while facing the cruel reality of Seoul. In conclusion, Son Chang-seop's novel “Gil” is composed of elements and methods of naturalistic literature, and there is the possibility of examining it from a naturalistic perspective by expanding it to the author's view of life and literary world.