아쿠타가와 류노스케 『서방의 사람』과 몬드리안 - 창작기법의 미학적 고찰

Abstract

Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s last work, Saihonohito(TheWesterner), is a sequence novel which consists of 37 principal chapters and a sequel of 22 chapters. Saihonohito embodies a dual structure in which stories are presented in a dry numeric list in <form> while Jesus Christ’s Passion constitutes <content> for the form. This study focuses on the dual structure of the work and analyzes the structure from an aesthetic perspective. The climax of chapter 32 (Golgotha) and Chapter 33(Pieta) in the principle portion of the novel reminds readers of the paintings of Christ, such as Grunewald’s The Crucifixion and Michelangelo’s Pieta. The life of Christ’s carrying the Cross is described as the scene of ‘a broken ladder in the storm’ at the end of the principle portion of the work, and the message of the Resurrection is finalized as the image of ‘Emmaus travelers’ at the end of the sequel. These picturesque scenes leave a lingering imagery. The message which Akutagawa tried to deliver through this work is more emphasized in the sequel, which promises Resurrection in the future, like Resurrection, the second portion of Grunewald’s Isenhimer Altar, than in the principal portion, which describes the past. Saihonohito composed of metaphorical content and numerical form, condenses all of the author’s life and death situations, and this dual structure was a means to deliver the objective truth while repressing the writer’s emotions as much as possible. The structure has aesthetic profundity, and this makes the novel worthy to rank with Mondrian’s entirely abstract paintings which exclude all forms of affectation and are refined to grid level.