설화 속 선녀의 성격과 서사적 양상

Abstract

This study examined the narrative functions and roles of the “fairy” in oral folklore texts and classified the relationship between the fairy’s identity and the narrative discourse into three types. The first, type of fairy was found to be Heavenly Mother Goddess. Unlike the typical mother goddess in mythological discourse, who is nothing but a person who connects bloodlines to heroes, this fairy type represents a Heavenly Mother Goddess. As the main agent of the tale, she oversees the entire narrative journey by giving birth to the protagonist and guiding the protagonist until he becomes a hero. The Heavenly Mother Goddess reconstructs the human world on earth with heavenly ideals and order. The study’s second fairy classification was a messenger of the gods. This celestial maiden travels between heaven and earth, functioning as a helper to the protagonist and seeking to implement the dominant ideology of the time, which is integrated with the sacred ideals of the Jade Emperor. The third fairy type was the object of desire that other characters wanted to have, and her function as an Actant was the object. She is only the daughter of the Jade Emperor, and despite her authority and status as a god, this fairy is the other whose narrative personality is the object of human desire or inquiry.