「홍길동전」의 번역과 고소설 변용의 정치적 의미 -이와야 사자나미(嚴谷小波)의 「구렁이의 꿈(大蛇の夢)」을 중심으로

Abstract

The article looked at the political significance of the translation of modern classic novels through Hong Gil-Dong Jeon and The Dream of Giant Snake by Iwaya Sajanami. The Dream of Giant Snake was published in the 27th edition of Iwaya Sajanami’s Sekai Otogibunko(世界お伽文庫). Joseon’s Hong Gil-Dong Jeon was translated into English by H. N. Allen, and it was translated into German by A. G. Arnauss, and the German version was translated into Japanese by Iwaya Sajanami and published under the title The Dream of Giant Snake. Iwaya Sajanami introduced the work as the Otogibanashi(お伽噺) of Joseon, but changed the message of the work and the character shape of Hong Gil-Dong by arbitrarily transforming it rather than maintaining its unique atmosphere or plot. This is different from the German version of Arnaus, which Iwaya Sajanami used as the original translation. So the article looked first at the changes that appeared in the translation process of The Dream of Giant Snake and explored its political meaning. The result showed that unlike the German version that focused on discrimination and suffering that Hong received, The Dream of Giant Snake focused only on his heroic side of Hong Gil-dong. In particular, Hong Gil-dong appears only as a childish hero in The Dream of Giant Snake which is a part of the plot of Momotaro(桃太郞) which is also a representative work of Iwaya Sajanami. Especially considering that Iwaya Sajanami emphasized the annexation of Joseon and Japan to Japanese boys at this time, it is clear that The Dream of Giant Snake is not simply a work to “introduce” the Iwaya Sajanami to Joseon. In other words, The Dream of Giant Snake can be viewed as an event in which a classical novel of Joseon took on political significance through translation.