채만식의 『어머니』개작과 식민지 전사(前史)의 재구성

Abstract

At the time of liberation Chae Man-sik published 「Mother」 and its adaptations, 「Yeoinjeonki(女人戰紀)」(1944-45) and 「Life of a Woman」(1947). The adaptations of 「Mother」 clearly show the starting point of Chae Man-sik’s historical novels. 「Mother」 describes the customs of the enlightenment period. The novel is set in a farming village and shows a family still governed by patriarchal order, even in the absence of a patriarch. The female protagonists suffer from the contradictions of patriarchal order, yet they can’t realize it. The novel ends by describing one of the protagonists facing ruin in her difficult marriage life. 「Yeoinjeonki」 and 「Life of a Woman」 proceed to a family historical narrative by involving pre-colonial history as well as the customs of the enlightenment period shown in 「Mother」. 「Yeoinjeonki」, which explicitly shows the intention of pro-Japanese collaboration, reconstructs the history of becoming Emperor’s people by portraying a pro-Japanese family from the Russo-Japanese War to the Pacific War. On the other hand, 「Life of a Woman」 reconstructs the history of a newly born nation-state through the story of a revolutionary family during the last period of the Joseon dynasty. 「Life of a Woman」 ends at the point of confirming that the female protagonist’s difficult marriage life is irreversible, however, this novel suggests new possibilities as she is one of the revolutionary family members. At this point Chae Man-sik’s historical novel of the liberation period starts again.