놀부의 삯군, 째보형 인물의 기능과 그 변이

Abstract

This essay is an attempt to overcome the view that the “Cleft Lip” characters in Heungbugeon are merely a reflection of the status of menial workers of that time. With more versions of Heungbugeon available evidence for this perspective is found to be inadequate. The Cleft Lip character is better understood as someone who functions differently in numerous version of the text to satisfy the appetites of a particular audience. In some versions the character has a unique satirical function related to the audience’s desire to protest against Nolbu’s immoral character. In other versions of the story, especially old printed versions and transcribed versions, the satirical function of the character disappears; he is portrayed simply as comedic. The Cleft Lip character is not depicted as being a means to bring justice to Nolbu as Seoul block printed version, but he reflects the social change that was developing in the culture—a culture that was losing its traditional moral mores. The physical disorder imagery of the character shows the pervasive acceptance of the moral social disorder.