이승우 소설에 나타난 창세 설화의 문학적 변용 - 『태초에 유혹이 있었다』를 중심으로

Abstract

Seung-woo Lee has been recognized as the representative author for Christian world view in literary history in Korea. His literary theme which had its started in very ideological question of ‘what is God’ has not escaped from the problem for the author till the present. He has continued in the path of pursuing the original root of literature and psych with the exploration into the origin of the universe and essence and the pursuit of the sanctity which one dares to approach. As a result, throughout his novels, the solemnity and meticulousness of a monk on the path of the seemingly a seeker can be observed. This study focuses on the literary transfiguration of the story of genesis in Seung-woo Lee’s full-length novel, There existed temptations in the beginning. The novel has a new literary interpretation on the first tragic incident, the fall of humankind by the temptations of the snake which led to their banishment from the Eden. Humans were exiled for eternity from ‘Eden’ which was a gift from God by violating the prohibiting laws. At the center of the tragedy are the Tree of Knowledge and snake as the crucial players. The author reinterprets the epistemological significance of the Tree of Knowledge, which was the first ever prohibiting rule in the literary perspective in the novel. Furthermore, the novel presents a in-depth interpretation that the fall of humans was not caused by the slyness of the tempter the snake but by the desires inherent in the human psyche more fundamentally. Based on this, the study stresses the importance of restoration of relationship through the once-lost communication with God. Thus, the study intends to more specific analysis on the epistemological significance of the story of genesis and the fundamental issue of human desires, supporting the theological arguments.