『불여귀(不如歸)』에 나타난 결핵의 표상과 은유

Abstract

his study is aimed to examine the representation and metaphor of tuberculosis found in Bulyeogwi. In previous studies, the metaphor of tuberculosis was divided into a romantic symbol influenced by the West and a genetic symbol as a criticism of the pre-modern society; however, this research further attempts to clarify the nature of infection, for instance, the spread of war anxiety and modern fear. This is to figure out the underlying anxiety and fear of the Japanese projected on an infectious disease, away from the existing feminist perspective focusing only on women’s sacrifice. Accordingly, this study found the followings. First, this novel depicts the third generation of soldiers during the Meiji Restoration era after the Bakuhan System, centering on Namiko, the female protagonist. All of them are armed with a military spirit centered on the Emperor and have a proud Japanese persona that represents militarism. Among them, Takeo who is currently on active duty is a representative Japanese persona on the path of militarism and shows the possibility of a self-sustaining modern era transformed according to the Japanese climate. However, he faces the limitations of the times due to the Sino-Japanese War and eventually fails to protect love. Second, young Takeo was a proud persona of Japan that was rising high with modern reform on its back while Namiko can be seen as a shadow of Japan’s collective unconsciousness that symbolizes the failure and fear of war behind it. In other words, Takeo being loyal to nationalism externally is in the same vein with Namiko conforming to familialism. Namiko’s tragic death symbolizes the sacrifices of women who, although they were winning, had to fill the absence of men and the fear and anxiety that they might lose the war - a lack of eternal victory or life. Third, the novel deals with both tuberculosis’ vertical transmission by heredity and horizontal transmission by infection, indicating that tuberculosis is a collective problem, not just an individual disease. If this is interpreted as an allegory, heredity is a fear of vertical transmission, that is, the possibility of negative transformation of traditionally handed down customs from the past to the present while infection is a horizontal transmission that can be caused at any time by space and is characterized by its development in a way that is difficult to control. The fear of heredity is great from the perspective of an outbreak, but the fear of spread is even greater from the perspective of problem solving.