재현과 전망의 역설

Abstract

Han SulYa’s masterpiece “Twilight[黃昏]” has been under the dual valuation. In the viewpoint of the modern Korean novel history, it has been rated as the representative labor novel. On the contrary, it’s formal characteristics such as narrative structure, the characterization of heroine RyeoSoon[麗順], the exposure of writer’s consciousness, etc. have been disparaged in the aesthetical viewpoint. In short, the valuations of “Twilight” have alternated between historical high reputation and aesthetical devaluation. The aforementioned disjunction turns out to be a hypothetical one through rigid and close scrutiny of the novel text. Text analysis of “Twilight” in this study will show that the previous aesthetical devaluation is false. Some previous studies consider the structure of “Twilight” as divided into two parts, but the text analysis of the whole narrative structure focusing on the major storylines derives a conclusion that there is no such dichotomy. This novel consists of four major storylines of RyeoSoon, GyeongJae, the love of them, and the factory renovation project respectively and three-fourths of the way into the narrative these storylines blend into a single complex storyline. Meanwhile, the focus of narration is taken on characters’ consciousness and narrator’s interpretation rather than the factuality of events and the phenomena of the story. In the case of the romantic relationship between RyeoSoon and GyeongJae, what matters is not their objective love affair itself but their psychologies or consciousness and especially the changes of consciousness of each character. In depicting the factory renovation project, neither the road map nor actions but the significances of them are emphasized. The effects are complex. On the one hand, the representations of RyeoSoon’s movement of social hierarchy and GyeongJae’s loss of perspective are to be valued at the triumph of realism. On the other hand, the figuration attitude of boss Ahn and JoonSik and the narrator’s interpretation of the factory renovation project abide by historical materialism and the world view of class struggle that Han SulYa held fast at that time so that the figural and substantial effects lose reality. The main thematic effect of “Twilight” is the class situation in a capitalistic society which is represented through RyeoSoon’s movement of social hierarchy and GyeongJae’s loss of perspective. This conclusion is confirmed by the aforementioned analyses of narrative structure and character figuration. In addition, two paradoxes of “Twilight” as a leftist novel lend weight to that decision. One is the paradox of representation in which the target of representation is not labor class but petit bourgeois. The other is the paradox of perspective in which the bleak outlook of petit bourgeois is emphasized instead of the promising future of labor class. Taking the whole analyses into consideration, it becomes possible to define the subcategory of “Twilight” not as a labor novel or a romantic novel but as a class novel. This definition will dissolve the aforementioned dual valuation.