사뮤엘 베케트의 「내가 아니야」: 언어의 육체화와 인물의 탈육체화

Abstract

Samuel Beckett's Not I:Corporeality of Language and Disembodied BodyLee, Su KyungEmptiness and miniature is an important source of Samuel Beckett's theater art. Among many plays towards emptiness and minimalism, Not I is regarded as the most dramatic work that explores emptiness through the relationship between body and language. This paper examines the representation of disembodied body and corporeality of speech in Not I from the perspective of Beckett's aesthetics toward emptiness. Mouth, a disembodied body presents itself on the stage delivering 'her' story. Despite its strong refusal to 'I', however, the story Mouth speaks echoes the speech of Mouth. As Mouth speaks 'her' story, it presents itself as a represented theater object spoken about in its story rather than acting as a speaking organ. While the abstract body object effaces physicality as a speaking body, its speech presents the aural object beyond a speaking body. The physicality of speech is emphasized by the speed and pace which emphasize the sonority of the word over its signification. The sonority makes speech an aural theater object rather than an instrument of representation.As a turning point toward later voice plays Not I, which deconstructs the relation between a speaking body and voice by effacing its corporeality from a body and by separating the voice from the body, reflects how Beckett tries to reach emptiness through means of imperfect representation.