일제말기 이태준 단편소설의 ‘사소설’ 양상

Abstract

This study intends to consider appropriation of Japanese private life novels attempted by Lee Taejun around the 1940s and intention of the attempts. Lee Taejun appropriated Japanese "I" stories or novels based on the author's personal life in his autobiographical novels in two steps, thus creating a new form of "I" novels or novels based on the author's personal life. The first step is represented by his autobiographical novels written until the mid-1930s, such as A Moonlit Night, Saeksi (A Bride) and Millionaire Son, and the second step by novels written around the 1940s, such as Paegangraeng, A Rabbit Story, Muyeon and The Sunset. This study analyzed short stories of Lee Taejun which have been classified as autobiographical novels, "I" novels or private life novels, to identify variations by steps and find inner relationship between his short stories and novels. Although Lee Taejun was a member of the Association of Nine Writers that advocated the autonomous value of literature in opposition to the mainstream of Korean literature which had run from Lee Gwangsu through KAPF, the main characters in his novels showed incomplete and eclectic personality, fiercely antagonistic to the class-conscious doctrine of predominance of politics while keeping private relationship with professionalism of literary men based on the theory of moral ascendency asserted by another group of writers including Lee Gwangsu. Owing to this aspect of eclectic characters, his works include short stories with the style of "I" stories as well as ideological novels. It deems that Lee Taejun's "I" stories written around the end of the rule of Japanese imperialism in Korea highlighted characters that represent the ideology of the writer himself as an expression of political activities, thus keeping strained relations with novels that cooperated with the status quo in a way, in an effort to assume the responsibility as a literary man.