<숙향전>에 나타난 ‘고통’의 문학적 해석

Abstract

The heroine who had repeatedly experienced the physical extinction in the narratives such as 「Choi Chi Won」, 「Manboksajeopogi」,「Leesaenggyujangjeon」, 「Hasaenggiwoojeon」, 「Woonyoungjeon」, is reborn as a heroine with strong vitality that endures ‘pain’ against the customs and institutions of the real world, denies the world of death in the narratives such as 「Sassinamjeonggi」, 「Guwoonmong」, 「Choicheokjeon」, 「Chunhyangjeon」 in accordance with the changing phases of the times, and the world view in the late Chosun. 「Sukhyangjeon」 is the work based on a series of literary conventions. The imagery of ‘pain’ represented in 「Sukhyangjeon」 is expressed into two aspects. ‘Pain’ embodies the heroine as the subject of physical extinction. Sukhyang is a figure that shows the image as a traditional and customary physical extinction. It is the subject that experiences the physical extinction due to abandonment, drowning oneself, wandering, deformity, buried at sea and stone to death. It is the aspect that embodies the pain of the woman who has been left out of the protection under the mainstream system at that time. The ‘pain’ of 「Sukhyangjeon」 is also expressed into the imaginary aspects of spiritual transcendence and restriction. If the place is a transcendent world where he can enjoy the freedom escaped out of the oppression of the real world for Lee Sun, the transcendent world is expressed into the image of restraint that emphasizes the oppression of the real world for Sukhyang. The fact that the aspect of ‘pain’ is expressed into the transcendence and restriction, is due to the literary way to reveal the complex life diversity. The literacy function of ‘pain’ can be searched from the aspect that contributes to the tempo control of road movie type narrative. 「Sukhyangjeon」 show the typical pattern of road movie type narratives that leave the settlement for certain destination and return. ‘Pain’ adjusts the tempo of road movie type narratives, functions to carve the life at that time. ‘Pain’ also contributes to expansion and variation of the water related space. The setting of the water related space functions to solve the problem of the real world. 「Sukhyangjeon」 realizes the oppression and persecution faced by the people at that time through imagery of each different “pain” of male and female characters. In addition, it realizes the bureaucracy that attempts to solve the problem of real world by moving it to the transcendence world, or the human nature that desires for a happy life.