도리스 레싱의 『클레프트』-신화와 역사 사이의 흐린 경계지대
Doris Lessing's The Cleft -The Murky Borderland between Myth and History
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The Cleft, Doris Lessing's speculative novel, rewrites the myth of human origin by suggesting that the first humans were not men, but women, i.e. the Clefts, who reproduce themselves via parthenogenesis. In this fiction, Lessing imagines how the prehumans evolved into humans of today showing how first males, the Squirts, were born and treated and how the Clefts and the males came to live together. She also suggests that through this process they realized their sexual difference and their reciprocal needs, and as a result the system of patriarchy came into being and women lost their subjectivity. Transit, main narrator of this work and Roman historian, is determined to write a consistent history about the first human ancestors by making use of ancient legends in manuscript fragments. He soon realizes that he unknowingly intended to reconfirm his fixed idea about men and women reflecting the relationship between them in the Roman Period: that is, the man is the subject and the woman is the other. But an episode concerning his second wife, Julia, awakens him; although he has considered her as young, thoughtless and self-indulgent, she is, in fact, wise, prudent and strategic enough to save him from Nero, Roman Emperor. He comes to wonder if women really did lose their subjectivity or their power. He finally decides to present to the readers not only his historiography but also his ancient materials, his personal records about his private life and his private comments because he realizes that all history is inevitably mythical. His decision to present both myths and facts leaves all judgments to readers and embodies the concept of ‘mythistory,’ the term originated by the historian William McNeill. Lessing wrote The Cleft at the age of ninety-seven. As her other speculative novels showed that she could handle heavy subjects such as geography, cartography, social biology etc, here she tried to reverse the levels of confidence we have in myths and histories. Myths could be closer to the truth than histories.
Abstract
The Cleft, Doris Lessing's speculative novel, rewrites the myth of human origin by suggesting that the first humans were not men, but women, i.e. the Clefts, who reproduce themselves via parthenogenesis. In this fiction, Lessing imagines how the prehumans evolved into humans of today showing how first males, the Squirts, were born and treated and how the Clefts and the males came to live together. She also suggests that through this process they realized their sexual difference and their reciprocal needs, and as a result the system of patriarchy came into being and women lost their subjectivity. Transit, main narrator of this work and Roman historian, is determined to write a consistent history about the first human ancestors by making use of ancient legends in manuscript fragments. He soon realizes that he unknowingly intended to reconfirm his fixed idea about men and women reflecting the relationship between them in the Roman Period: that is, the man is the subject and the woman is the other. But an episode concerning his second wife, Julia, awakens him; although he has considered her as young, thoughtless and self-indulgent, she is, in fact, wise, prudent and strategic enough to save him from Nero, Roman Emperor. He comes to wonder if women really did lose their subjectivity or their power. He finally decides to present to the readers not only his historiography but also his ancient materials, his personal records about his private life and his private comments because he realizes that all history is inevitably mythical. His decision to present both myths and facts leaves all judgments to readers and embodies the concept of ‘mythistory,’ the term originated by the historian William McNeill. Lessing wrote The Cleft at the age of ninety-seven. As her other speculative novels showed that she could handle heavy subjects such as geography, cartography, social biology etc, here she tried to reverse the levels of confidence we have in myths and histories. Myths could be closer to the truth than histories.
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