인성의 깊은 그늘: 허만 멜빌의 ？베니토 세레노？

Abstract

The 'Deeper Shadow' in Human Nature: Herman Melville's "Benito Cereno"Cho, Jae-JinHerman Melville is said to have been enamored of "cosmic generalities," but that does not necessarily mean he was unconcerned with political issues. The interpretation of Melville's "Benito Cereno" enters a new phase when it is recognized that the work was based on a real historical incident. But still the meaning of the work is not completely clear. Joyce Adler says "Benito" does not express its meaning openly but hides it in the shadows which are thrown over everything.One of the most helpful symbols added to the original is the heraldic dark satyr which holds its foot on the prostrate neck of a writhing figure. The dark satyr symbolizes the Negro leader Babo, but the roles of Negro and white become interchangeable in the following actions. As Babo chalked the words "follow your leader" below the figure-head, the mate cried the same words when he boarded to recapture the ship.The second most valuable clue in interpreting the work is the changing of the name of the slave ship "Tryal" to "San Dominick." It serves to remind the reader that one of the most terrible black rebellions took place in Santo Domingo in the 1790s. Dominican Friars were notorious for the Inquisition in which more than 2000 Albigenses were killed as heretics in 15th century Spain. Thus the "imputation of malign evil" is shared by all, black and white, and it determines their basic equality and interchangeability. Melville was neither an emancipationist nor a supporter of slavery. Melville said that emancipation has ridded the country of the reproach but not wholly of the calamity. He believed the coexistence of the two races in the South was a grave evil. It is the "deeper shadow" of the future of the U. S. and what Benito means when he says what he most fears is "the negro." We can also see this fear in every ideological or racial conflict in the world today.