E. B. 화이트의 『샬롯의 거미줄』에 나타나는 기적의 의미: 수행적 언어, 자연의 일상성과 초월성으로서의 기적
The Meanings of the Miracle in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web: Miracle as Performative Speech Act, Ordinariness and Transcendence in Nature
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In spite of the common skepticism, including philosopher David Hume's, E. B. White places the miracle as the central event and main theme in his classic children's book, Charlotte's Web. This study explores the meaning and significance of this miracle in Charlotte's Web. The words written on the web are not the signs of the miracle from God as believed by Juckerman and townspeople. Charlotte, the spider, saves Wilbur, the spring pig, by writing series of the signifiers, ‘some pig' ‘terrific' ‘radiant' and ‘humble' on the web. She tricks people into believing the words as signs from God. The ordinary pig Wilbur becomes the pig as designated by the words. The miracle is the performative speech act of the language that gives birth to Wilbur by calling him with the words on the web. While the first meaning is the performative speech act that saves Wilbur, there are other interpretations of the miracle of the words on the web in the book. White introduces the concept of the ‘ordinary miracle' through the minister’s interpretation of the ‘miracle-in-waiting' as that which can occur anytime, i.e., as the possibility of the miracle. Through Dr. Dorian's outlook that ‘the web itself' is the miracle, White expands his concept of the ordinary miracle to include transcendence in Nature. As the paper emphasizes the significance of the performative speech act, it also argues that the book Charlotte's Web itself as literary performative speech act creates its story and characters to provide the occasion to reflect upon the meanings of the miracle for the (child) readers.
Abstract
In spite of the common skepticism, including philosopher David Hume's, E. B. White places the miracle as the central event and main theme in his classic children's book, Charlotte's Web. This study explores the meaning and significance of this miracle in Charlotte's Web. The words written on the web are not the signs of the miracle from God as believed by Juckerman and townspeople. Charlotte, the spider, saves Wilbur, the spring pig, by writing series of the signifiers, ‘some pig' ‘terrific' ‘radiant' and ‘humble' on the web. She tricks people into believing the words as signs from God. The ordinary pig Wilbur becomes the pig as designated by the words. The miracle is the performative speech act of the language that gives birth to Wilbur by calling him with the words on the web. While the first meaning is the performative speech act that saves Wilbur, there are other interpretations of the miracle of the words on the web in the book. White introduces the concept of the ‘ordinary miracle' through the minister’s interpretation of the ‘miracle-in-waiting' as that which can occur anytime, i.e., as the possibility of the miracle. Through Dr. Dorian's outlook that ‘the web itself' is the miracle, White expands his concept of the ordinary miracle to include transcendence in Nature. As the paper emphasizes the significance of the performative speech act, it also argues that the book Charlotte's Web itself as literary performative speech act creates its story and characters to provide the occasion to reflect upon the meanings of the miracle for the (child) readers.
참고문헌 (20)
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