『심청전』의 부녀관계와 서사구조

Abstract

This paper presented one of viewpoint for reading the tale 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 by analyzing the systematic correlation between father-daughter relation and the narrative structure. The characteristic of Sim Cheong which is known the most widely and impressively in the world is the devoted daughter’. ‘Devoted Daughter Sim Cheong’ is a kind of idiomatic words in the Korean literature. The viewpoint considering the filial duty as the main theme of 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 has been the main stream since the early 20th century. Such awareness was fixed as the conventional interpretation and so interrupted experimental and innovative reading. In consideration of the origin of 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 tracing back to the long times ago and its extensive manifestation, it is highly possible that the filial conduct moral is the trace and expression of a specific period thickly overlaid on the literal works. This study focuses on the narrative itself of Sim Cheong’s Tale putting aside the viewpoint that emphasizes the historic fact and the ethical attitude of the story, and tried to analyze the text of the story from the viewpoint that form speaks all about itself and all descriptions have their implications. As a result two factors were revealed. First, 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 depicts concretely the psychological pattern between father and daughter and its stream that is the process of ‘substitution of mother by daughter→attachment of father and daughter→separation of father from daughter→exploration of spouse by daughter, marriage→father’s blindness, departure→daughter’s return and father’s gaining eyesight. Second, the development method of relation between father and daughter is tightly organized in the structure of the narrative, creating a specific effect of esthetics. Putting the focus of reading comprehension on Sim Cheong, 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 is a story about a daughter who tries to be independent by departing from the attachment to her father. On the other hand, looking into the conclusive structure of the story that reflects the separation from father with a condition for marriage (or ending in marriage) and Sim Cheong’s return to her father, the possibility that 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 is a product of an era that maintained the man-centered marriage culture was left in question. Putting the focus of reading comprehension on Sim Hak-gyu, 『Sim Cheong’s Tale』 is a story about a father whose attachment moves from his wife to his daughter from her birth, sticking to his daughter, suffering from psychological chaos with the shock from daughter’s separation and marriage and ultimately awakening from the blind fantasy about his daughter. A hypothesis that this story has keen relationship with the proverb 「People live according to their fortune」 was presented in this paper.