소설 『바보들의 행진』에 나타난 유희하는 대학생 주체(들) - ‘웃음’의 의미를 중심으로

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to reveal the meaning of the laughter or play of the college students in the novel The March of Fools. In this novel, laughter and play can be interpreted in various ways, and it is possible to check how the subjects of college students, including Byeong-tae and Yeong-ja, are shaped in a situation where laughter is induced and play unfolds. Furthermore, it is possible to see what the meaning of the ideology inherent in this text is ultimately through the shaping of these college students and their events. The comical events of the characters in The March of Fools, the language play that fills this novel, and the destruction of the comical narrative norms at the end of the novel mean that the laughter shown in this novel can be subversive. However, the laughter and play of the college students appearing in this novel also coexists with the aspect of reproducing the existing dominant power. In the novel, the male college student (Byeong-tae) laughs at the authority, state power, and violent norms of the older generation while pursuing ‘freedom’ with a rational attitude. However, this subject shows the violence of the patriarchal subject while revealing capitalist desire without any reflection. On the other hand, the female college student (Yeong-ja) induces laughter by exposing the comical greed for things, excessive emotionality, and the simplicity that is faithful to the instinct. However, this female college student subject has the meaning of ‘a woman as a subject of over-consumption’, ‘a woman as an uncontrolled emotional existence’, and ‘a woman who uses men’, and comes close to being an existence that cannot be easily read by patriarchal standards. Existing studies have focused on the resistance, critical and subversive meanings of the real order revealed in The March of Fools. However, this article is meaningful in that it reveals the self-treachery of the text by paying attention to the aspect of reproducing the existing power with this meaning. In addition, by examining how individual freedom and belief, which are mentioned as important values in this novel, are in contact with the ‘liberal’ ideology, it can be meaningful in that it reveals the historical and social meaning of this novel.