가와바타 야스나리(川端康成)문학에 나타난 ‘물’의 상징연구 -『이즈의 춤추는 소녀(伊豆の踊子)』를 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper closely examines the symbol of water in 『Izuno Odoriki』 through nature and imagery. As Kawabata is splendid in delicate and sensuous expression, the image of water in his works is a substantial subject for inferring his internal aspects. The symbol of water can be broken down into two images in this paper: the negative and the positive images. Firstly, water appears as ‘rain’ as a negative perception. For instance, the rain pouring down like a downpour in the first scene expresses the anxiety and feeling of tension of the protagonist, allowing us to gauge the degree of complex and anxious emotions of the protagonist. On the contrary, it can be shown as a positive image through ‘rain’ and ‘tears’. As the image of rain changes, it is expressed as a medium of joy and comfort, unlike natural phenomena. ‘Clear water’ eventually becomes an image of feeling love along with tears of happiness as the protagonist’s depression is relieved. In the end, the protagonist chooses ‘travel’ as a refuge from the psychological ‘crisis’, expressing the ‘repressed’ emotions through both visible and invisible landscapes. Thereby, the visible landscape of <Nature> and the invisible landscape of <Image> are drawn naturally through the symbol of ‘Water’.