‘말 걸기’와 응답으로서의 소설 쓰기 : 梁貴子의 「숨은 꽃」을 대상으로

Abstract

This study analyzes the ethical subjectivation of the novelist ‘I’ in Yang Gui-ja’s “Hidden Flower.” The analytical method is Judith Butler’s argument, which criticizes the logic of self-identity in the modern subject, reveals that the subject is constituted by the other through address and response, and explores responsibility and ethics. Accordingly, “Hidden Flower” can be read as a process in which the novelist “I”, who acknowledges the limitations of self-understanding, acknowledges the vulnerability and opacity of existence and discovers dependence on others, thereby reconstructing herself. Although she is a novelist, “I”, who cannot write novels, tries to overcome her limitations by accepting and evaluating the lives of Kim Jong-gu and the people around her through travel. The narrator’s response to their address shows that the subject is constructed through the other, and this work can be seen as addressing and responding to the self and the reader. If the narrator “I” acknowledges that she is a dependent and constitutive being, this is an act of discovering the ethics of the subject and leads to responsibility. In the novel, this is expressed as “finding the flower language of hidden flowers.” Ethical subjectivation demonstrates responsibility, maximizes relationships and enables connection with the community. In this respect, “Hidden Flower” goes beyond Yang Gui-ja’s novel-writing difficulties to a starting point for an author’s exploration of the world’s principles through the novelist’s ethical transformation.