『압살롬, 압살롬!』에 나타난 로자의 담론 분석--여성의식과 '상실된 명분' 이념

Abstract

Absalom, Absalom! approached the heart of failure of the Old South through the exploration of the father figure. In this paper I tried to analyse the discourse of Rosa who gives the important interpretation of the father figure in the woman's perspective. What is most notable in Rosa's discourse is her voice of resistance to the father figure. The fact that she suffered an incurable wound by the father figure and she has led an isolated life for almost 50 years represents her strong antipathy to the patriarchal order of her society. What she hates most about the father figure is his implication that woman should properly function as a womb if they are to belong to the house of the father. Beside her implacable furious voice, there finds another kind of subversive voice of hers. That is the voice of female sexuality. While she is telling her secret love of Charles Bon, she unconsciously exposes her sexual desire, which was prohibited from the dominant ideology. In this sense, Rosa's discourse shows the subversive consciousness as a woman. But if we stress on only this aspect, it is likely to be limited because Rosa was also seen to be influenced by the Lost Cause ideology to justify and idealize the Old South. The conservative aspect of her is shown through two aspects; her acceptance of Sutpen after the Civil War and her interpretation of Charles Bon only as a lover. The changed attitude to Sutpen is deeply related with her patriotic love for her country. And her ignorance of Bon's suffering as a black son in the south means the ignorance of the dark sin of the father figure. In this sense, her discourse has limits in explaining the main conflicts of the southern society.