잠을 통해 근대 가부장제라는 말뚝에서 풀려나기-「엄마의 말뚝」 1,2,3을 중심으로

Abstract

This study analyses from Park Wan-seo's achievement and limitations in overcoming patriarchal modernity by paying attention to the sleep motif in her serial novel, 『Mother’s Stake』. While her stake represents modern achievements, sleep means nature, non-action, and non-production; this study adheres to the implications of sleep's invisibility and visualization based on such a fact. By finding that the novel’s in-visualization of sleep is linked to being captured by patriarchal modernity. where as visualization of sleep mediates criticism and deviance from it, this study can identify antithesis and alternative possibilities for the patriarchal modernity that sleep implies. In 『Mother’s Stake I』, this study look at the process of mom’s putting stake in a modern city(Seoul) and the in-visualization of sleep. Attention is paid to the modern achievement achieved by incorporating the past into a civilized city, deviating from the pre-modern community of stupidity and barbarism, with meaninful finding that the process has its own limitations. The mom is characterised as a supporter and a executor of a modern ideal of rational achievement based on individual effort, but she has little time to sleep which means her whole life has been committed for her son’s future of secular success. The chapter 2 will focus to trace out such processes and tries to find out failure and shortcomings of modern project of development. The Chater 3, which deals with 『Mother’s Stake II』, tries to analyse the collapsed stake from Mom’s of sleep disturbance that begins to become visible due to nightmares. The 86-year-old mom's postoperative perimortem, "Insomnia" and "Nightmare," casts a belated process of anger and condolences on her son's death during the Korean War of 30 years ago. Nightmare is not caused by her old age of turning to religion nor by senile weakness in need of medical care and protection. It represents an important way to reveal her own self as a person expressing anger and resentment against the collapsed stake. Furthermore, it reveals the process of realizing condolences for the death of a son through the intervention of his daughter, who acts as an outlet for anger. In the Chater 3 for 『Mother’s Stake III』, the possibility of counter-narratives on modern lives and modernity are traced based on the fact that sleep can mediate the mom's death and her aftermath. Mom has slept all day long in her last years, and there happen several episodes which weaken the meaning of her death. This study tries to read out some critical cracks in the autonomy of rational subjects and modern achievements based on them, while it pays special attention to mom’s name which is carved on her gravestone “Ki” and “Sook” which has meaning of ‘body’ and ‘sleep’ each. Park’s serial nover of 『Mom’s Stake』 casts some significant insights of reflection for deviations from the grip of patriarchal modernity and the re-thinking of life beyond modernity.