「포인턴의 소장품」: 미, 소유, 그리고 도덕

Abstract

The Spoils of Poynton: Art, Possession, and MoralityChoi, Kyong-do The theme of possession has concerned James throughout his literary career. His characters are awakened to the reality of life through their contacts with material possession. In James's works, the material possession takes a more complicated meaning as it is associated with art and morality. Thus many of his characters such as Isabel Archer, Kate Croy and Charlotte Stant reach a renewed sense of life in the face of material acquisition. James's The Spoils of Poynton(1897) is a work in which the relationship of art, possession and morality is inextricably connected. Here, upon the things of Poynton, three main characters embody a different aspect of possession, in the form of aesthetic principle, material pursuit, and moral idealism.With the development of the story the novel reveals what it is to take hold of the things in Poynton. Mrs. Gereth, who has collected and preserved the things in Poynton, considers them as an extension of her life. She insists that the things in Poynton should be inherited to someone who can appreciate the real value of Poynton because the aesthetic principle she holds is the most important. In contrast to this is the idea of Mona to whom the pursuit of things itself is an end. As a result, she sees the things in Poynton as monetary value. The view of Poynton reaches the most complex level in Fleda who connects them with the moral vision. However, the destruction of Poynton in the end suggests that the moral and the aesthetic acts do not exist harmoniously in the realm of possession since the world of possession belongs to the harsh reality where the gain and loss dominates.