스위프트의 작품에 나타난 후각 이미지 연구: 후기 시와 『걸리버 여행기』 중심으로

Abstract

This article examines Jonathan Swift’s human animalism and social criticism through the olfactory imagery in his poems and novels. In Gulliver’s Travels, as well as in the “Description of the City Showers” and later poems, Swift criticizes the social perception that emphasizes British scientism and experimental reason, and rebukes the hypocritical human illusion. Swift emphasizes the fundamental animalistic nature in humanity and physical savagery, by positioning sense of smell as a crucial device to reveal. The intense images of stench, filth, and feces in his works not only serve as a critique of debauchery and luxury of aristocratic women, but also a literary device for urban topographical awareness and life strategies for city dwellers. Gulliver’s Travels also shows a strong critique of the contemporary perspectives that placed misguided faith in fruitless scientific experiments and mathematical abstractions. Through this process, Swift juxtaposes the filthy and malodorous yahoo-filled city of London with the lives of the merchants who embodies will to live and strength. In this regard, Swift’s use of olfactory perception and imagery in his works functions as a means of uncovering the absurdities of reason and science while affirming the inescapable animal nature of humanity.