장인의 고집과 소설가의 윤리 -이청준 소설 「줄광대」, 「과녁」을 중심으로-

Abstract

Yi Chung-jun’s novels based on artisans are usually evaluated as criticizing modernity while at the same time affirming tradition. This article raises questions about this evaluation by narrowly rereading 「Julgwangdae」 and 「Kwanyuk」. 「Kwanyuk」 sets the conflict composition between traditional artisan and modern character who have formed identities based on different value standards. It dramatizes the situation which the incommensurability occurs, because there is no common measure to judge right and wrong, or good and bad between two characters. The writer criticizes the self-identities of both, by pushing the difference between two characters into extreme opposition. Furthermore, by focusing on 「Julgwangdae」, this article reveals the ethical implication of the perseverance of the old artisan Heo, who unconditionally pursues his artistic mission regardless of the modern and pre-modern value system, and review the aspect that his son Heo Woon, who inherited father’s mission, experiences the worthlessness of “the Father’s Law” and is placed at the zero point of subjectivity. The writer posits the ethics of the novelist by linking this zero point of subjectivity with the starting point of novel writing. This article tried to examine the significance of that novelist’s ethics in the transition period of discourse.