『국문장편 고전소설 감상사전』‘인물 편(人物篇)’의 구성 방식과 의의

Abstract

Out of the five items, the goal of this paper is to focus on the characters and to propose an effective, descriptive and meaningful character part in cyclopedia to serve as a reference for Korean classic novels. However, compiling such a general cyclopedia can be very subjective and is no easy task. Despite this, the goal was to compile a cyclopedia that both experts in the field and newcomers could use. Since dictionaries are usually a resource that requires objectivity, and a cyclopedia would be subjective, it would be of great importance to strike a balance between the two. Especially in the chase of a character part of cyclopedia, on one hand there is the case of first-time readers and the need to connect them with the material but, on the other hand, the material cannot be too opinionated or subjective. In addition, extracting material from Korean classic novels in more than twenty volumes to form a database of themes, entries and headwords is a daunting task. After considering these problems it was necessary to first look into the structure of existing and published material of literature and character dictionaries. In conclusion, the character part of this cyclopedia will concern itself with 1) family lineage, 2) character introductions, 3) character and plot relationship, 4) the four main plot themes usually tied to characters and those plots then further broken down into sub-plots. Between family lineage and character introduction, objective description is possible, between 3) and 4) a researcher’s subjective judgments should be supported with information that has precedence and analyzed results. The problem of 3) and 4)’s subjective material should be supported with objective analysis. In addition, as pertaining to 3) the cyclopedia should clearly show relationships having to do with (1) father-son and mother-son relationships, (2) daughter-in-law and mother-in-law relationships, (3) uncle-nephew relationships, (4) sovereeign-subject relationships, (5) teacher-student and other vertical relationships along with (1) married, (2) concubine/mistress, (3) sibling, (4) non-blood relations and other horizontal relationships. The relationships should be outlined clearly while expressing the hidden meaning. With respect to 4), it is necessary to choose many subjective functions so as to enhance the enjoyment and readability of the novel, to emphasize the originality of said works and to incorporate all these items into a ‘character part in cyclopedia’. In conclusion, the role of the ‘character part in cyclopedia’ would be to lay out the themes and meaning behind the work with discretion to the reader and the various tastes readers might have. While taking these things into consideration and introducing the general parts of a formal story, the ‘character part in cyclopedia’ focuses on the culture of the Joseon Dynasty period as a setting and to help the reader immerse themselves from a different point of view that other cultural texts may not have been able to do.