일제 말기 이효석 소설에 나타난 고향 표상의 변전(變轉)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze novels of Hyo-seok Yi to examine that the representation of hometown / homeland / Joseon are originally established in the diametrical opposition of those representation produced within dominant discourses about his contemporary age of Japanese imperialism. From the outset of his literary career, Yi continuously adopted a tool of writing works, that is, preferred symbols in his contemporary mainstream of discourses, so he could change them into characteristic themes again. This way, he commanded his own way of literary creation. In the late 1930's, there were more activated discourses regarding ‘hometown’ and ‘rural regions’ in Korean literary world, and Yi also made positive use of materials relevant to ‘hometown’ and ‘rural regions’ in his essays and novels. By the way, Yi created something different from ‘the representation of hometown’ established by dominant discourses of locality. In the imperialistic discourses of locality, hometown is represented as a place of closed and special locality. In Yi's novels such as “Plain”, “In the Blossom of Buckwheat” and “Turban Shell”, however, hometown doesn't appear as an absolute and homogeneous place. In his novels,‘hometown’ is represented as something fluid formed in motions and is also represented as something equivocal - different senses depending on persons who experience it. In his novels authored from the late 1930's to early 1940's,hometown was used to give further implications of ‘a country’ itself beyond ‘a region of one country.’ “Yeosu (旅愁)” (Dong-A Ilbo, Nov. 29～Dec. 28, 1939) was based on a central narrative, i.e. communication via a sense of lost hometown (homeland). According to this novel, Europe is ‘a cradle of modern civilization’ and ‘a hometown of contemporary people.’ This logic can be materialized through separation of real and geographic hometown (a place of birth) from desired hometown (ideal land). And this mind-set ends up with a plural sense - not singular - of hometown. In this process, ‘hometown’ images of “Yeosu” have more implications beyond ‘a unique hometown.’ This work suggests that Yi's Europeanism was employed as a means to maintain any desires to go to ideal world. On the other hand, “the Unlimited Blue Sky (碧空無限,1941)” is characterized by literary embodiment of how a character went through change of senses when he left his hometown to Harbin, a remote city of Manchuria. In this novel, the locality of Joseon doesn't appear exclusive but open. Yi adopted imperialistic symbols in material aspect of his novel works (e.g. railway, lottery ticket, etc), but he advocated ‘possible assimilation of human being’ as contrary to imperialistic mechanism in thematic aspect. By the way, in the Japanese version of Yi's novel works such as “Autumn” and “Dim Light”, the representation of hometown are associated with ‘exclusive affection for hometown’ and go through changes once again. Yi maintains uniqueness of Joseon by means of such exclusive love for hometown. In these two works, something Korean is revealed as incommunicable with something cosmopolitan,and also appears uncompromising with any Orientalist desires of imperialism. A series of novels as listed above give hints on any identity of locality pursued by Yi. Yi takes literary materials such as ‘hometown’,‘homeland’ and ‘Joseon’ from dominant discourses of locality, but illustrates a genuine ‘hometown’ beyond any boundary of empire. Yi introduces key symbols from dominant discourses quickly into his own novel works, and commands his own way of literary creation so that he employs them just in the aspect of literary material but highlights the theme of a novel work in the opposite direction. That is why original images of ‘hometown / homeland / Joseon’ in Yi's novels form a relationship of counteraction with the representation of Joseon as produced by dominant discourses in the late period of Japanese imperialism. In view of these mechanisms of Yi's novels, it is concluded that his novels have a nature of counter discourses against dominant discourses of imperialism.