보편에 이르는 길 -최재서의 국민문학론 형성 과정을 중심으로-

Abstract

This study aims at pursuing how the National Literary Theory of Choi, Jae-Seo has been composed by reviewing the criticism of Choi, Jae-Seo. Choi, Jae-Seo can be considered as one continuous entity only when the critique consciousness before and after the activities in『National Literature』is mediated mutually, so in this study, the researcher will concentrate the efforts on extracting the sprouts of the National Literary Theory in the criticism system of Choi, Jae-Seo set forth in 1930s and grafting them in the National Literary Theory of Choi, Jae-Seo. For this, we should review in what manner Choi, Jae-Seo utilized the concepts of ‘tradition’ and ‘impersonality’ suggested by T. S. Eliot in the criticism of his own in the first place. Choi, Jae-Seo says that the tradition should also include the idea of contemporary order, which means the order that a special individual literature can negotiate with the universal world literature. Choi, Jae-Seo regarded the concept of tradition like this as the moral which a writer ought to have, and asserted that the personality of a writer or the speciality of local literature should contain the universal ethics of world literature ultimately. The recognition like this is organically connected with the critical concept of ‘impersonality’ suggested by T. S. Eliot. Referring to ‘impersonality theory’ suggested by T. S. Eliot, Choi, Jae-Seo asserts that a writer should aim at the writing based on ‘larger self’ in accordance with the tradition to the exclusion of ever writing based on ‘smaller self’ constrained by personality. After all, his viewpoint like this results in the logic that the control to oppress the personality is required, and this logic forms the same track as totalitarian logic stated through『National Literature』in 1940s. The discussion of Choi, Jae-Seo is progressed toward the direction that the tradition rather than personality is emphasized and the universality of world literature rather than the speciality of local literature is emphasized, and it can be said that what is highlighted here is the ‘cosmopolitan’ ideology. Laying emphasis on the universality of the West rather than the speciality of Joseon, Choi, Jae-Seo says that the moral required for a writer can be formed by contacting the culture of big cities in Europe, the backbone of civilization. However, the cosmopolitan ideology like this centering on the West encounters a big change starting from the ‘Fall of Paris’ that occurred in June, 1940. Because the ‘Fall of Paris’ was one of big incidents confirming the decline of the West which was regarded as a model of universality, Choi, Jae-Seo had nothing but to modify the existing critical logic which emphasized the cosmopolitan ideology. In the end, he came to establish Japan as the representation of universality to replace the West. Although having emphasized the tradition rather than personality, and the moral of world literature rather than individual local literature after referring to the theory of T. S. Eliot, he came to advocate the so-called the National Literary Theory as he emphasized the universality centering on Japan after the ‘Fall of Paris’ in 1940. Therefore, investigating the criticism of Choi, Jae-Seo through a flow penetrating the ages, the logic of his criticism started from the tradition theory and impersonality theory suggested by T. S. Eliot and resulted in the National Literary Theory accepting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.