『요루노네자메(夜の寝覚)』의 여주인공 조형―생령사건의 의미를 중심으로―

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the character of "Yoru no Nezame"´s heroine with ‘living ghost incident’. The Lady Rokujo of "The Tale of Genji" hears a rumor that she appeared as a living ghost on the sick bed of Lady Aoi, the lawful wife of Hikaru Genji, and dreams of tormenting a woman who is believed to be Lady Aoi. After suffering, Lady Rokujo became a bonze, but she became a ghost and tormented the women of Hikaru Genji. Naka no Kimi, the heroine of "Yoru no Nezame", wanted to become a bonze upon hearing a rumor that her living ghost had tormented Lady Ichinomiya, but was unable to. She lamented her destiny by composing a song that quoted the Lotus Sutra by Izumi Shikibu. The fates of the two women, who are also said to have appeared as a living ghost, were divided into those who became a bonze and those who did not, and influenced the stream of the story. Naka no Kimi was criticized by "Mumyo Zoshi" for faking her death and coming back to life for her children in the defective part of the story. She was, after all, a woman who was forced to live under the polygamy system, inheriting the despair of Izumi Shikibu and Michitsuna´s Mother in "Dragonfly Diary." The stigma of the ‘living ghost incident’ was deeply related to Naka no Kimi´s self-portrait. By comparing ‘living ghost incident’ in "Yoru no Nezame" with that of Lady Rokujo in "The Tale of Genji," I can reinterpret the female character in "Yoru no Nezame" as a female figure in the history of Heian Monogatari.