≪리진≫에 나타난 동아시아 근대의 다문화적 체험

Abstract

A novel by Shin Gyeong-suk, Lee Jin restored the life of “Lee Jin,” who was a court dancer and the first Korean to live in Paris. Accidently the same figure was dealt with in Lee Shim by Kim Tak-hwan. While Kim’s work replays the path of Lee Shim from the perspective of multicultural experiences and imperialism, Shin’s work highlights the influences of the Paris Arcade phenomenon on Lee Jin and further maternity and confession, which are the strong points of her literature. Furthermore, unlike the old history novels that depicted heroic figures within the scope of authentic history, Shin focuses on restoring and mourning forgotten or hidden figures especially marginal ones in history in Lee Jin. Lee Jin consists of two volumes; Volume 1 shows the process up until Lee Jin left Joseon, and Volume 2 depicts her life in Paris. This study approached her life in Paris with her encounter of “Arcade” because it was her first response to multicultural experiences. The culture city of Europe she first arrived in, Paris was the place of newness to the Joseon court lady. It was full of advanced civilization and in full bloom of capitalism. It awakened her to the meaning of freedom, economy, and art. In the novel, confessional writing is revealed through “letters.” The letter narrative is comprised of Collin’s letters and Lee Jin’s letters. While the former’s letters were related to his affairs as a diplomat, Lee Jin’s letters were personal writings of “confession.”Her letters were addressed to the Queen, telling about the changes she experienced inside as an alien from Far East who was exposed to a new culture. The true addressee, however, was Lee Jin herself not the Queen; she could not mail them to the Queen because they were what she wanted to tell herself at the excuse of the Queen. In Lee Jin, maternity is embodied through Ms. Seo, who failed to bear a child and left to live alone. She accepted Lee Jin and Kang Yeon who were orphaned without even asking about their origins and devoted her entire fortune to running the orphanage. Ms. Seo’s extreme benevolence is on the extended line of maternity observed in Shin’s novels. While the Queen was Lee Jin’s spiritual mother, Ms. Seo was her real-life mother. Shin’s Lee Jin was an extension of her writing into the new area of history novel but still remained within the scope of maternity discourse and confessional writing.