1900년대 초 한・일 소설에 나타난 <빈궁> - 히구치 이치요의 「섣달그믐(大つごもり)」과 주요섭의 「개밥」을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This paper compares and examines the representation of poverty and related discourses depicted in Ichiyo Higuchi's ‘New Year's Eve’ (Otsugomori) and Ju Yo-seob's ‘Dog Food’ (Gaebob). Both works are set against the backdrop of the transitional period from pre-modern to modern times experienced by Japan and Korea at different times. This is represented through the depiction of the occupations of the 'maid' and the 'Haengrang Mother,' which were excluded from the scope of modern domestic work. Additionally, these stories emphasize the sense of various absurdities brought about by poverty, which are inherited by the most innocent and vulnerable children. In ‘New Year's Eve,’ the heroine Omine ends up committing a crime for Sannosuke, but also experiences an accidental process of atonement, while in ‘Dog Food,’ the struggle of Danseong's mother, driven by the primal sense of 'evil,' is prominently depicted. This is thought to reflect well the atmosphere of the respective periods, namely the Salvation Army's activities in Japan and the colonial rule in Korea. The similarities between ‘New Year's Eve’ and ‘Dog Food,’ along with the contemporaneity of the theme of poverty, highlight the important universality that transcends time and space in exploring the relationship between literature and real society.