소산된 주체성과 소모된 감정: 신자유주의 이후의 여성 청년 빈곤서사 -「큐티클」, 「물건들」, 「일의 기쁨과 슬픔」을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This article delves into the poverty phenomenon appearing in the narratives of poverty of young women after neoliberalism and the emotional structure of the neoliberal era. Centering on the novels <Cuticle>, <Things>, and <The Joy and Sorrow of Work>, it aims to unravel how the prevailing sentiments of neoliberalism have been internalized by young women, illuminating a distinct characteristic within their poverty narratives. From the perspective of neoliberal "aesthetic domination," "happiness scripts," and "cruel optimism," this paper reexamines the poverty experienced by young women. The poverty of female youth in three novels is not only manifested as survival instability and material shortage, but also as incomplete interest, deprivation of cultural value, insufficient charm capital, and the narrowing of the boundary between labor and private life. As a result, in today's world where the lives and labor of post-modern young women are dominated by the logic of singularitäten and individualization, the feelings of the neoliberal era, dominated by fantasies and loves for "a good life", "self-actualization", and "maintaining employment", ultimately manifest as negative emotions such as feelings of isolation, shame, inferiority, and cynicism. In the lives of young women after neoliberalism, emotions have been rewritten into new structures. The feeling of "poverty" is becoming a way for young women to interact with others or perceive society. Therefore, examining the poverty and emotional narratives of young women is of great significance for a deeper understanding of their sense of identity.