멜빌의 『모비 딕』과 산업자본주의의 여명

홍승현,(Hong Seung Hyun) 한국외국어대학교 영미연구소 2016 영미연구 Vol.36 No.-

허먼 멜빌은 한 편지에서 말하길, 그가 문학작품을 집필하는 데에는 두 가지 종류의 노동이 있다. 하나는 주머니에서 온 것이고, 또 다른 것은 마음에서 온 것이라고 밝혔다. 그가 노동을 두 가지로 나눌 때 고전적인 마르크스주의에서 논한 노동의 분업과 상품 페티시즘의 소외 개념을 상기시킨다. 멜빌이 그의 대표작인 『모비 딕』을 집필할 당시는 산업자본주의가 동틀 무렵이었다. 따라서『모비 딕』을 당대 산업자본주의 혼란스러운 태동기의 산물이라는 분석은 그리 근거 없는 억측은 아닐 것이다. 이 작품은 일면 그 당시 새롭게 펼쳐지는 산업자본주의 시장의 주도적인 역할이 초래하는 당대까지 경험해 보지 못했던 문 제들을 반영한다. 여기서 고래잡이 배인 피쿼드호는 하나의 주식회사로서 전 세계의 여러 연안에 산업자본주의를 퍼트리는 첨병 역할은 한다. 따라서 주식회사 를 운영하는 독선적인 경영자인 에이허브는 천연자원을 개발하기 위해 선원들을 체계적인 노동 분업으로 착취한다. 하지만 불행하게도, 주식회사 피쿼드호의 사업은 재앙으로 끝나게 된다. 그 비극의 씨앗은 에이허브의 광기어린 집념의 대상인 모비 딕에 있다. 마치 스페인 금화가 선원들에게 그랬던 것처럼, 그리고 마르크스가 주장한 상품 페티시즘에서 상품이 노동자에게 그런 것처럼, 모비 딕은 에이허브에게 신비로운 존재가 된다. 에이허브는 산업자본주의 덕분에 피쿼드호를 자신의 사적인 소유로 이용했지만, 끝내 그는 산업자본주의의 비인간적인 모순으로 인해 파멸에 이르게 되는 것이다. Herman Melville says, in a letter, that there are two kinds of labor wielded to produce his literary works: one from the “pocket” and the other from the “heart.” When he divides his labor into the two categories, he reminds us of the classical Marxist argument about the capitalist division of labor and the alienation of commodity fetishism. It was at the dawning of industrial capitalism that Melville created his major work Moby-Dick. That is why it may not be baseless to argue that this masterpiece should be a product of contradiction arising from the disturbing early stage of industrial capitalism. In a way, the novel reflects, into its textual entity, the uncharted dilemma of living under the dominant influences of the newly established market-economy of industrial capitalism. The whaling ship Pequod as a joint‐stock company is also a pioneering outpost to spread industrial capitalism to many coasts around the world. Thus, as an authoritarian manager of the Joint‐stock company, Ahab orchestrates the work of the crew into the systematic division of labor, which unwittingly amounts to the exploitation of natural resource. Unfortunately, the business of the joint‐stock company Pequod ends in a devastating failure. The seed of tragedy lies in the object of Ahab’s quest, Moby Dick. Like what “the doubloon” does to the crew of the Pequod, and then like what a commodity becomes to its producer in Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism, so does Moby Dick become “a mysterious thing” to Ahab. While Ahab turns the Pequod into his own private property in the spirit of industrial capitalism, he is also another victim to its inhumane contradiction.

자메이카 킨케이드의 『내 어머니의 자서전』: 식민주의적 승자와 패자 관계에 갇힌 정체성

홍승현 ( Seung Hyun Hong ) 미국소설학회(구 한국호손학회) 2009 미국소설 Vol.16 No.2

This paper examines how slavery reconstitutes the formation of Caribbean subjects in relationship to the overwhelming power of the colonial episteme in Kincaid`s work. In The Autobiography of I@ Mother, Xuela, daughter of a Carib mother and a half Scot, half African father, tries to seek her identity in the context of the colonial victor and vanquished relationship. Xuela`s dead mother is analogous to her alienation from her mother country dominated by the imperialist power. Her lifelong struggle to seek her identity and the history of her mother is completely trapped by the binary oppositional power relationship of the victor and the vanquished. I want to focus more specifically on the underlying issues of the heroine`s self-quest by analyzing characters, which reveals Xuela`s perspective of dividing the world into the victor and the vanquished. Chapter I1 concerns about Xuela`s mother, father, and Ma Eunice, teacher as her surrogate mothers. Chapter III includes three men who have sexual affairs with the heroine, their wives as well by positioning them as the dominant mode of binary power relations. I am especially dram to the myriad tactics in which Xuela returns constantly to the raw materials of the self in order to survive. Trapped in harsh world of power relationships, Xuela comes to realize that the way to avoid being dominated is to destroy others. To be a victor, she has many survival tactics: By positing herself as the victor, she tries to overcome her sense of defeat, caused by the loss of mother, linked with historical realities. Xuela, who has never been loved, also fails to love someone else and becomes cold-blooded human being. Xuela, d o owns nothing, uses her body as the tool of exercising power to men. She remains childless, refusing to be a mother because of the trauma of her mother. Although death is inevitable, Xuela, on seventy, outlives all people she knew- father, stepmother, husband half-sister, and half-brother. Conclusively, the mother/daughter relationship is central to Kincaid`s fiction. Xuela`s lament for the lost mother connects her to the lost Caribbean subject in the native country. As a result, this article demonstrates how a postcolonial politics may indeed be rendered visible in The Autobiography of My Mother.

토니 모리슨의 『비러브드』: 타자의 언술

홍승현 ( Seung Hyun Hong ) 세계문학비교학회 ( 구 한국세계문학비교학회 ) 2008 世界文學比較硏究 Vol.22 No.-

이 논문은 세스(Sethe)와 비러브드(Beloved)의 관계에 나타나는 거울적 자아로 대변되는 이원적 아이덴티티의 양상에 관해 연구한다. 프랑스의 심리학자 자끄 라 깡(Jacques Lacan)의 잘 알려진 명제인 "인간의 욕망은 타자의 욕망이다"는 타자 (Other)의 끊임없는 개입으로 인해 인간 주체가 분열되는 것을 뜻한다. 이런 의미에서 세스는 자신의 목숨과 어머니의 목숨을 맞바꾸려는 죽은 딸의 유령에 사로잡히게 된다. 자아의 주체 분열에서 나타나는 "이원성"(doubleness)은 포스트모더니즘의 중요한 주제가 되는데, 모리슨의 『비러브드』는 "애매함"(indeterminacy)과 "불확정성"(undecidability)이라는 포스트모더니즘의 시학을 펼치고 있다. 모리슨의 포스트모던적인 기법의 또 다른 면은 노예제도라는 실제 역사와, 비러비드로 표현되는 초자연적인 고딕적 요소를 결합시키려는 시도에서도 연유된다. 일반적으로 소설에서 등장인물의 무의식은 타자에 의해 억압된 기표(signifiers)가 꿈, 농담, 증상의 형태로서 표현된다. 라깡이 일컫는 타자의 개념은 세스가 그녀의 죽은 딸과 연관되어 이원적 아이덴티티로 주체를 해체하는 데서 한 예를 찾을 수가 있다. 마치 나쁜 꿈처럼, 세스의 유령 아이는 죽음에서 되돌아와서 세스로 하여금 자신의 과거를 돌이켜보며, 직면하게 한다. 비러브드는 세스에게 고통스런 과거를 불러오는 타자의 역할을 담당한다. 무의식적으로 세스는 과거와 결별하여 새로운 삶을 시작하고 싶어 하지만, 역설적이게도 고통스런 과거에서 도피하기 위한 유일한 방법은 과거를 떨쳐버리기 위해 과거를 재배열하는 것이다. 결국 모리슨의 『비러브드』 는 의식과 무의식의 분열 형태와 함께 "나"의 속에 "또 다른 나"의 존재가 내재하는 과정을 보여준다. 따라서 라깡의 "타자의 언술"이라는 관점에서 볼 때 텍스트 해석의 한 실마리를 찾을 수 있을 것이다.

재닛 윈터슨의 『오렌지만이 과일은 아니다』: 모던/포스트모던 텍스트

홍승현(Seung Hyun Hong) 한국영미어문학회 2006 영미어문학 Vol.- No.80

  Jeanette Winterson"s autobiographical, first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is one of those successful stories of which feminists and lesbians feel proud. Oranges, a mixture of sad and funny events, is the story of Jeanette, adopted by an evangelical family. Jeanette"s mother"s plan for Jeanette to become a missionary are thwarted when she discovers that she is having an intimate relationship with her friend. Jeanette falls in love with Melanie and this eventually leads to her leaving home, making her own way in the world. Jeanette manages to develop a positive self-image when she is surrounded by negative views of lesbianism. The novel raises the question of lesbian and gay issues, appealing for a diversity of audiences. Through the book, Winterson argues that lesbianism isn"t the problem, but people"s attitudes towards it can be.<BR>  My essay seeks to examine the meaning of the ambiguous polemical status of Oranges, a text which cuts across the modern and postmodern perspective. Like many postmodernist writers, Winterson is preoccupied with parody, pastiche, and a sense of multiplicity. Winterson seems to go beyond the endless questioning and skepticism of postmodernism because she has faith that she know why God made her and what her mission in life is. In form and intent, her novels are modern parables that read like dreams, collapsing time, and traditional narratives. It is interesting to note that Winterson"s relationship to postmodern is a collaborative dialogue with Modernism. The complexity of Oranges constantly invites widely varying alternative interpretations.<BR>  It is hard to arrive at a conclusive statement about Oranges, because it belongs to the text that can transgress so many critical stances, having asserted its fluidity and complexity. Heterosexuality is the political system within which we all live. However, as title of the book, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit suggests, Winterson disagrees with the system, by crossing hetero/homo boundary and claiming insistent relativism and open attitudes toward lesbian and gay issues. She seems to be trying to integrate different modes of thinking by discussing a question about diversity and rethinking of history.

마지막 비전을 향한 긴 여행 : 로렌스의 「죽음의 배」에 대한 라깡적 분석

홍승현 ( Seung Hyun Hong ) 한국로렌스학회 2004 D.H. 로렌스 연구 Vol.12 No.3

로렌스 다시 읽기: (무)의식적 존재로의 열정적인 고투

홍승현 ( Seung Hyun Hong ) 한국로렌스학회 2002 D.H. 로렌스 연구 Vol.10 No.2

D. H. 로렌스의 『채털리 부인의 연인』: 실재계(the Real)로서의 주이쌍스(jouissance)를 향하여

홍승현 ( Seung Hyun Hong ) 한국로렌스학회 2001 D.H. 로렌스 연구 Vol.9 No.2

에머슨과 휘트먼에 대한 해체적 접근

홍승현(Hong, Seung-hyun) 한국외국어대학교 외국문학연구소 2005 외국문학연구 Vol.- No.19

New Criticism has shown its quest of the central meaning in texts. On the contrary, deconstructive criticism defies the determinacy of meaning and relies on constantly unfolding nature of texts. The speaker's unreliability and the uncertainty of text has become one of critical issues on the deconstructive agenda. In this essay, I explore Ralph Waldo Emerson's and Walt Whitman's poetry from various deconstructive critical methods. It is necessary to come up with an alternative not based in the scheme of new criticism, but in Deconstruction, when it comes to interpret the poetry of Emerson and Whitman. Emerson is very eager to establish the relation between human and nature and to reverse his thesis, basing upon paradox and delayed judgement. Whitman's repetition of center and decenter in pursuing his self has a similar pattern of Emerson's. Both Emerson and Whitman tend to show postmodernist characteristics, because they breed the giant that destroys and deconstructs themselves. For Emerson's ｢Each and All｣ and ｢The Rhodora｣, my emphasis is on the correspondence between inner human spirit and outer nature, by borrowing Melanie Klein's “projection and introjecton”, D. W. Winnicott's “transitional objects” and Jacques Lacan's “Real order”. I examine Whitman's ｢Song of Myself｣, by using the concept of Paul De Man's “allegory”. Conclusively, deconstructive re-reading of Emerson and Whitman helps us to uncover their poetry with a new perspective and open attitude.

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita: The Art of Simulation and the Parody of Dialogic Language

홍승현(Seung Hyun Hong) 한국영미문학교육학회 2014 영미문학교육 Vol.18 No.1

There are two major motives in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita: one is to record an emotional apotheosis of the narrator Humbert Humbert’s invincible passion for a nymphet and the other, to transform his story into a work of art immortalizing his intriguing but very controversial passion. However, Humbert’s confession does not always correspond to the reality. Rather, he endeavors to sublimate his pathetic and illusory life of the passion up to the realm of art, which brings up, implicitly and explicitly, a question concerning the nature of artistic creation. In this sense, Lolita can be seen as a novel about the creation of the novel as a literary genre, which is constantly self-conscious to its status as an artifact. This unique character of Lolita has a very close resemblance to the concept of “simulation” proposed by Jean Baudrillard. Indeed, Baudrillad’s simulation is made up of the self-referential and self-sufficient signs free from any facts and substances of the real world. As a novel on the creation of the novel, Lolita also has a creative concern in the parody of the structural conventions and motifs of diverse literary genres. According to Bakhtin, by means of the parody, the novel realizes, in its text, diverse “images of language,” which formulate the core of the novel. In this sense, Nabokov’s Lolita could be seen as a typical example of realizing Bakhtin’s theory of the novel since, in the novel, there are multiple parodies of literary language together with heteroglot images of commercial language from modern American society. Both Baudrillard’s concept of the simulation and Bakhtin’s definition of the parody could be suitably used in illuminating very meaningful aspects of Lolita: the former can be applied to its status as an artifact, while the latter sheds light on its parody of heterogenous but dialogic images of language.

셸리의 『프랑켄스타인』 과 브론테의 『제인에어』 비교분석 : 라깡적 글읽기

홍승현(Seung Hyun Hong) 한국영미어문학회 2005 영미어문학 Vol.- No.74

Both psychoanalysis and literature are concerned with narratives, with telling stories. By reinterpreting Freudianism in terms of language, Lacan permits us to reformulate the relation between psychoanalysis and literature. Lacan’s works is an original attempt to rewrite Freud’s unconsciousness by undertaking a thoroughgoing reassessment of the role of language. Lacan sees the unconscious as coming into being with language, stressing signifier over signified. One of Lacan’s well-known statements is that “the unconscious is the whole structure of language” and “man’s desire is the desire of the Other”. From Lacan’s perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to make a comparison between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, with an attempt to decode the unconscious through languages of works. It is worthwhile to approach Lacanian reading of these two novels because they have some similarities and differences simultaneously in terms of psychoanalytic views. Chapter Ⅱ provides an outline of desire and unconscious in the texts. In Frankenstein, my emphasis is on the study of Oedipus Complex and the theory of the Imaginary, Symbolic order. In Jane Eyre, there is a focus on psychoanalysis as a practice which includes a discussion about Jane’s dreams and symptoms as the formation of the unconscious. The third part of this chapter concludes with the comparative analysis in the light of Lacan’s notions of “talking cure” and “transference”. Chapter Ⅲ considers the “doubleness,” caused division of subject or self, as the one of important issues in Poststructuralism. According to Lacan, the mirror stage is the phase of alienating narcissistic identification; the subject is his own double more than he is himself. This concept of the mirror phase draws our attention to the interdependency of image and the identity as the way of appearing character’s double/other. As a result, double identity representing mirror self leads to the consideration of one double of Victor and creature, other double of Jane and Bertha, and the third double of a creature and Bertha. Therefore, “unconsciousness is the discourse of the other” means that human subject is decentered with inhibition by the other. Lacan’s notion of the unconscious is formed by adding language to the structure of the repressed in Freud. Lacan’s concepts to literary works can be useful to thinkers in a wider variety of methods to read novels. Conclusively, the effect of Lacan’s theory is to revitalize literary criticism as a new way to reinterpreting literary works.