1900년대 이인직의 사회적 상상- 신소설 텍스트를 중심으로

Abstract

This article aims to flesh out the image of 'Sahoe(society)' in Lee-injik's narratives. A narrative, as a sequence of events in everyday-life, presents significant images of 'sahoe'. The images presented in Lee-injik's narratives are different from that presented in Lee-injik's leading article such as "Sociology", "Society", "The prospectus of Korean newspaper". The 'sahoe' in those narratives is usually 'imagined', so this article also aims to examine how Lee-injik imagines the image of 'sahoe'. Imagined 'sahoe' could get its substance from Confucianism, superstition of long standing, the ghost, and the fortune-teller, the shaman, the things regarded as pre-modern and illogical. This ironic nexus was possible because those 'pre-modern things' were interpreted as signs that's empty, meaningless word, as allegorical image. They were re-interpreted constantly, so they could make a new meaning infinitely. Lee-injik imagines 'sahoe' from these allegorical images. His narratives are filled with social etiquettes, rules, social order of ranks. In a word, His narratives are operated by 'engagement' between people who imagines society he belongs to. The engagements were embodied with the pre-modern ways of life. 'Sahoe' in this context are inevitably uncertain concept. Lee-injik's narratives presents this uncertainty with senses of unrest, terror. Furthermore, the ‘modern’ way of life, such as capitalism, social Darwinism, all the modern knowledges imported by the student who studied abroad became allegorical images, too. Lee-Injik relativized these newcoming values. For these reason, reading his narratives as a story of ‘modernizing’, or ‘an expression of the desire of modernize’ is a matter for debate. His narrative shows the world filled with meaningless, allegorical images. These images also made his concept of ‘Sahoe’ expand.