디킨즈 소설의 자연과학적 패러다임 - 후기소설을 중심으로

Abstract

There seems no common denominator between the works of natural philosophers and works of Charles Dickens because the former are scientific monographs concentrating on objective facts and the latter are novels stimulating subjective human emotion. That evolution and geology that were popular in Victorian society, however, may become a useful way to understand the atmosphere of Victorian intellectuals. The works of Dickens can't be away from the mood of natural philosophy of the Victorian Era. Our Mutual Friend as well as The Origin of Species is a story of survival of characters. As both describe the cruel environment in which anyone the subjects/characters who must kill others to survive, we can easily understand the setting of Our Mutual Friend resembles lassaiz-faire economy of Victorian society. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was not finished by the sudden death of the writer. Though we cannot understand the complete structure of the novel and the meaning, the fact that this novel is incomplete reminds us of the remains of castles, cathedrals and corridors. Lyell insists in his The Principles of Geology that we cannot understand fully the past because of the incompleteness of the remains. Like our partial understanding of the past, we cannot get the full meaning of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.