내러티브 수단으로서의 전염병 -『데카메론』 『약혼자들』 『전염병 전파자의 소문』을 중심으로-

Abstract

Throughout human history, diseases and epidemics have been constant, and widespread epidemics have metaphorical and instructive value and are reflected in art. Literature understood epidemics and diseases such as the Black Death as a punishment from God or a noble way to recognize the meaning of life and death, and used them as a means or subject of narrative to express the reality and spirit of the times. Representative works dealing with infectious diseases in Italian literature include Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron and Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed, and in modern times Gesualdo Buffalino's Plague-spreader's Tale. In Boccaccio's Decameron, the Black Death was used as a narrative device to provide an opportunity for ten speakers to come together. And the ideals of a new society were expressed in the obscene, irreligious, and socially critical stories told by the orators. Boccaccio's humanistic conscience is contained in the carnival situation created by the Black Death. In The Betrothed, Manzoni not only uses the Black Death as an instrument of good and evil to realize God's providence, but also criticizes the complacency and incompetence of the relevant authorities who were unable to prevent the spread of the Plague Black, and the ignorance and superstition of ordinary citizens. He talks about national responsibility, public enlightenment and the self-awareness of peoples that a united Italy will have to carry forward in the future. Finally, in Bufalino's Plague-spreader's Tale, the protagonist suffering from tuberculosis has various intellectual experiences on life and death, on illness and health, on life in a sanatorium. Tuberculosis, which was recognized as a romantic disease, is an important factor in the perception of life and death. Bufalino's writing, which uses illness and memory as a means of autobiographical narration, presents the characteristics of postmodern writing. Furthermore, the awareness of life and death, the sick and the healthy, the isolation and fear that appear there, are similar to our situation during the coronavirus epidemic.