‘매를 든 어머니’로 상징되는 戰後 成長小說의 暴力性 －『마당 깊은 집』, 『장난감 도시』, 『고기잡이는 갈대를 꺾지 않는다』를 대상으로－

Abstract

This paper aim to analyze the violence of the post-war society in three novels, <A House with a Deep Garden>, <The Toy City> and <A Fisherman Do not Snap the Reed>, that describe the post-war era. These novels are all notable works as they depict the background of the post-war society and the author's personal experiences. These are all bildungsromans that young children are main characters. Thus, in these novels, it is very common that caned children. Interestingly enough, in the three novels, all mothers who cane are widows caused from war. In addition, their caning is more frequent and harsh than other parents’ canes which are the purpose of education and discipline. Until now, most studies have paid attention to children’s growth in these novels. Therefore, the caning mothers’ feelings have been ignored. Unlike other studies, this study pay attention to caning mother, especially widows. In the time which traditional moral and beliefs were destroyed, the obsession and demand for social norm grew strong. The strong sanctions and crackdown were imposed on the abnormal, especially among the minority such as widows. These repressive mechanisms were also internalized to those who are subject to monitoring and controlling. As a result, they showed symptoms of self-control and self-censorship, further a nervous disease. That is what we commonly call the obsessional neurosis. The social environments that excessively force and suppress widows were the cause of the obsessional neurosis, and this violence transformed as cane, one of the aggressions, was enacted to their children. The widows caned their children to grow right more harshly because the mothers wanted that their children were different from the bad prejudice on widows and widows’ children. Consequentially, the widows’ caning is one of the social pathology of the post-war era, not the personal deviation.