서정주의 『질마재 神話』에 나타난 여성의 원시주의 연구

Abstract

『The Myth of Jilmajae』 was written with all these primitive and mysterious expressions, and such feature has been regarded as some eternity that Midang was pursuing. However, the eternity being talked about here feels abstract and vague, and that eternity can be understood even more concretely through the characterization of female characters. These women appearing in 『The Myth of Jilmajae』 are described both extremely primitive and mystical. The magical imaginations of those ladies make situations unrealistic, and that is what they basically do in this village, Jilmajae. The significance of the eternity will be easily understood when the women in 『The Myth of Jilmaejae』 are discussed in relation to primitivism. Adultery is no longer a taboo in Jilmajae. The act rather makes the village a place of people who always think and behave as these naive, innocent children do. That was something that could have never been possible unless Village Jilmajae was described to be primitive. In addition, what such feature of the village signifies there is that Jilmajae is returning to the primitive times and plus, it also means that Midang himself does not want his ideas toward the world to be exposed to any conflicts. This desire for the primitive times is connected not only to the appetite of people in the village but also to the eternity that Midang was seeking for. And, such eternity of Midang was satisfied even more successfully by these strange powers and substances possessed by the women of Jilmajae. In particular, the supernatural powers of Almetdaek or Hanmuldaek, one of these feelings or thoughts that primitive men would possess, have been internalized as these powers of the highest quality which would exceed rationality, morality and ethics. That is how the internal satisfaction is described, and that is what resolves not only the women’s dreadful fates but also all these troubles and difficulties among the people in the village. As a result, the people in the village can allow themselves to have even more tranquil lives in ‘Jilmajae’. Meanwhile, in ‘Jilmajae’, the white salt that the old lady sprinkles which is considered a rule of the primitive times gathers the village people to Room Madang, and that signifies the cohesion of the beings. After all, as far as the people in the village believe, the white salt is the factor that helps the recovery of the beings. Through such ritual the beings are led to focus on this ‘Room Madang’. ‘Room Madang’ makes the cohesion of the beings possible, and to the people in the village, the white salt is what realizes the recovery of the beings. That is also how those people who have been exhausted inside get healed. In the light of what has been discussed so far, the old lady should be considered not only a true savior of the ‘eternity’ but also this figure who encourages others to look for better values in their lives. To sum up, as far as Midang understands, realizing the primitive times indicates something that is fundamental, original and essential to human beings. Such realization of the primitive times leads Midang to reach the realm of psychological transcendence and to successfully expand his own time as this infinite time, the eternity.