지연의 서사와 텍스트의 무의식—서기원의 「이 성숙한 밤의 포옹」에 나타난 시간 구조에 대하여—

Abstract

This article aims to shed new light on the “plot” of “The Embrace(Hereafter abbreviated as),” that is, “the reason for its story”—a narrative in which the protagonist goes to his lover but does not go for some time. To this end, Chapter 2 first examines how the narrative “middle,” which moves from the beginning to the ending despite the protagonist’s imminent purpose of going to his lover, is unusually extended through a process of delay, through a detailed analysis of the temporal and narrative structure of “The Embrace.” Next, Chapter 3 considers how the narrative “middle” in “The Embrace,” which is expanded into conscious language, is actually a structured abode of unconscious desire. This is done by unpacking the intentionality of the textual performativity that lengthens the “middle” in “The Embrace.” In the process, we arrive at the interpretation that the inevitable connection between the "go" of the beginning and the “go” of the ending is made possible by the unconscious drive of the “middle” in “The Embrace,” which is “not going.” In the end, it is confirmed that “The Embrace” is a unique narrative text that embeds the "form of desire" of the "textual unconscious" within the “form of memory” of the “narrative of delay.” Here, the unconscious of “The Embrace” bears the “real” truth that when the futility of the shortcut to meaninglessness of "Thanatos" is controlled through the detour of pain of “Eros,” “life” is lived to the point of death, the impossibility of “narrative” is not only avoided, but the “meaning” that comes from that narrative becomes the reason for human existence. This conclusion also forces us to set aside our existing critical preconceptions about the so-called “post-war novel,” which is characterized by the lethargy and nihilism of people who are mired in the chaos and despair of the post-Korean War reality. On the other hand, we can see the possibility that “The Embrace” can be an exemplary text for reconstructing the “realism” of the postwar reality.