이상 문학의 ‘새-변신’ 모티프 연구

Abstract

본 논문은 이상의 작품 속에 드러나는 ‘동물-변신’과 특히 유달리 반복되는 ‘새-변신’의 모티프를 통해 그의 문학을 다시 살펴보려 했다. ‘동물’과 ‘새’의 ‘변신’이 이상 문학의 전반적인 사유 구조와 그 궤를 같이 한다는 것이 이 연구의 주장이었다. 기존의 연구들은 이상의 작품 속에 나타나는 동물을 인간 혹은 사회로부터 탈주하고자 하는 이미지로 바라보았다. 이 논문은 이상이 그려 내는 동물성이 인간 바깥의 것이 아니라, 인간의 명료한 정체성을 지탱하는 은밀한 중핵이라는 관점을 견지한다. 그를 위해 제시한 이론적 개념은 ‘외밀성(ex-timacy)’이었다. 이는 ‘외부성(externality)’과 비교되는 개념이다. 근대의 인간성은 비인간적인 광기들을 ‘외부’의 것으로 배제하고 억압하면서 구축되었을 수도 있지만, 실은 그 비인간적인 광기들을 소거하는 인간성의 내부에 ‘외밀’한 광기의 얼룩이 묻어 있을 수도 있는 것이다. 본 논문은 이상의 작품 속에 등장하는 ‘동물 변신’이 근대적 인간 속에 내재해 있는 외밀한 동물성을 폭로하고 있다고 보았다. 또 하나의 문제의식은 다음과 같다. ‘새’와 관련된 기존의 연구들은 한정된 작품을 중심으로 그 의미를 논의하는 경향이 있다. 이 논문은 ‘새의 변신’이 이상의 문학 전반에 드러나는 변이 과정과 상응하고 있다고 주장한다. 일본어에서 조선어로, 시에서 소설로 언어적·장르적 퇴행을 수행해 나간 이상의 형식적 퇴락 과정과 작품 내용 속에서 드러나는 새의 추락 과정은 기묘하게 일치한다. 이것은 형식의 시행착오 자체가 글쓰기의 내용이었던 이상이기에 나타나는 겹침일 것이다. 이 반복적 추락 과정의 의미를 설명하기 위해 필요한 이론적 개념은 ‘소급성(retroactivity)’이었다. 이는 어떤 행위의 원인이 그 결과들을 통해 소급적으로 구축될 수밖에 없다는 것을 의미한다. 그것은 행위가 이뤄진 후 나타난 결과들이 행위의 원인을 지탱하고 있던 기반이나 조건 자체를 무너트리기 때문이다. 기존 행위의 원인은 그 행위가 일어나기 전의 조건 속에서만 유의미한 것이었고, 막상 그 행위가 일어난 후에는 새로운 결과의 조건 속에서 의미를 재구축해야만 한다. 이상의 문학 시기를 각기 대표하는 ｢조감도(鳥瞰圖)｣, ｢오감도(烏瞰圖)｣, ｢날개｣는 각기 다른 언어적·장르적 의도를 가지고 창작되었으나, 그는 본인의 의도와는 다른 결과들을 맞이하며 좌절해야 했다. 하지만 그 실패와 추락 속에서 그의 문학은 새로운 형식적 기반을 통해 감각하고 사유할 수 있는 다면적인 겹을 획득하게 된다. 본 논문은 의도와 결과들의 불일치 속에서도 그 전위적인 행위를 반복적으로 행한다는 점에 이상의 차별성이 있다고 보았다. II장에서는 이상의 ‘동물 변신’을 근대적 인간을 이해하기 위한 전략으로 바라보았다. ｢지주회시(鼅鼄會豕)｣ 속에서 나타나는 이상의 동물 변신은 ‘아내’와 ‘남편’에게 동시에 일어난다. ‘아내’에게 일어나는 동물 변신은 광기, 동물성, 불확실함 등을 범죄 혹은 여성이라는 울타리 속에 가두는 근대의 전형적인 방식이었다. ‘남편’에게 일어나는 동물 변신은 그 범인들을 따로 떼어놓음으로써 자신들의 명료한 정체성을 구축했던 근대적 정상인들의 외밀한 광기의 방식이었다. 한편 카프카의 ‘변신’이 감각과 인식의 불일치에서 오는 불안한 사건을 다룬 것이라면, 이상의 ‘변신’은 광기의 도약을 통해 감각과 인식을 일치시키며 살아가는 정상인들의 평온하면서도 기괴한 일상을 폭로하고 있었다. 이상은 구체적이고 감각적인 동물의 몸을 기반으로 근대적 인간성을 재구성하려 했다. 그 메커니즘은 구체적인 형식으로의 전환을 통해 이전의 인식들을 다시 감각하려 했던 그의 문학적 사유 구조와 상응한다. 본 논문은 이상의 작품들 또한 그 소급적 구조를 통해 다층적으로 재해석될 수 있다고 보았다. 난해하고 관념적인 초기 작품 ｢지도의 암실(地圖의 暗室)｣을 이후에 발표된 ｢오감도｣를 통해 해석하고, ｢지주회시｣를 통해 추가적인 해석을 덧붙였다. 특히 구체적으로 주어진 ｢지주회시｣의 서사적 맥락과 ｢오감도｣와의 상황적 유사성을 기반으로, 작품 속에 등장하는 ‘앵무’가 공동체 속 위치를 규정하려 하는 인간적 ‘말’의 논리를 대변하고 있다고 파악하였다. 동시에 인간의 ‘말’과 동물의 ‘목소리’를 발화하는 ‘앵무’를, 명료한 인간성과 외밀한 동물성을 한 몸에 지닌 모순적인 근대의 인간상으로 읽어 내려 했다. III장에서는 전략적으로 언어적·장르적 퇴행을 수행해 나간 이상 문학의 퇴락 과정과 작품 내 ‘새-변신’에 따른 추락 과정 간의 연관 관계를 논의해 보고자 했다. 이상은 근대적 사유의 언어라고 여겼던 일본어에서 비교적 전근대적인 조선어로 언어적인 퇴행을 겪었다. 그의 표현을 빌리자면 그것은 ‘20세기적’인 것에서 ‘19세기적’인 것으로의 이행이었다. 하지만 이는 그가 스스로 택한 형식적 전환이었다. 그에게 조선어로서 시를 발표한다는 명확한 자각이 있었다는 점을 ｢1933, 6, 1(一九三三, 六, 一)｣의 분석과 실증적 자료들의 보충을 통해 밝혀내려 했다. 또한 일문 시 ｢조감도｣와 한글 시 ｢오감도｣ 속에 나타나는 명료한 고도 차이가 일본어에서 조선어로 언어적 추락을 겪었던 이상의 퇴락 과정과 기이하게 일치한다는 점을 살펴보았다. 이것은 글쓰기라는 형식의 지속적인 변신을 꾀한 이상의 반복적인 고투와 좌절이 작품 내적으로도 육화되어 있음을 보여 주는 하나의 증거일 것이다. 또한 시에서 소설로 장르적 퇴행을 겪은 이상의 추락 과정을 ‘새’의 모티프와 연관 지어 논의했다. 그는 소설 장르를 명백히 ‘19세기적’인 것이라고 생각하고 있었다. 그는 ｢오감도｣의 실패를 통해 시라는 장르 형식에 대한 회의를 가졌고, 소설이라는 새로운 장르 형식에 집중하게 되었다. 김기림과 주고받은 편지와 실증적 자료들을 통해 그가 명확한 인식을 지닌 채 소설이라는 장르에 집중했음을 밝혔다. 이상 문학의 형식적 전환은 저급한 것에서 고급한 것으로 상승하는 것이 아니라, 고위의 것에서 저위의 것으로 점차 추락해 나가는 모습을 보인다. 그는 추락의 결과의 지평에서 이전의 것들을 소급하여 사유하고 반성했다. 이상은 스스로 꿈꿨던 근대의 이상과 다른 결과들을 맞이하며, 의도와 결과가 불일치하는 우연적 근대 속에 내던져져 있었다. 이상의 특별함은 그 실패와 추락 속에서도 그 행위가 반복되었다는 데 있다. 그 반복적 행위의 낙폭만큼 그의 문학은 어떤 깊이와 매혹을 지니게 되었는지도 모른다.|This study attempted to reexamine Lee Sang’s literature through the motif of ‘animal-metamorphosis’ and particularly repetitive ‘bird -metamorphosis’ in his works. The contention of this paper is that the metamorphosis of birds and animals goes along with the thinking structure of Lee Sang’s literature. In previous studies, the animals in his works were viewed as the creatures that are eager to escape from human or society. In this study, Lee Sang’s animality is perceived as the secret kernel which supports the clear identity of human. The theoretical concept proposed for this was ‘ex-timacy’ which can be compared to ‘externality’. There is a possibility that modern human nature was formed by excluding and suppressing inhumane madness as ‘the outside’. In fact, however, the inner side of human nature which eliminates inhumane insanity might be stained with 'extimate' madness. This study understands that ‘animal metamorphosis’ in Lee Sang’s works unveils extimate animality which exists deep inside a modern man. Another critical mind is as follows: ‘Bird’-related conventional studies discuss the meaning with limited works. This study insists that ‘bird metamorphosis’ corresponds to metamorphosis which appears across Lee Sang’s literature. Lee Sang’s form-decline process, which went through linguistic and genre regressions from Japanese to Korean languages and from poems to novels is curiously matched with content-falling process of birds which are found in his works. It appears that there was overlapping because the trial and error of a form was the contents itself of writing. The theoretical concept needed to explain the meaning of this repetitive fall was ‘retroactivity.’ In other words, there is no other choice that the causes of a certain act would be retroactively constructed through their results. After all, the results from a certain act break down the basis or conditions of its causes. The causes of existing acts were significant in the conditions prior to their occurrence only. After the acts, the causes should be reconstructed under new conditions. Lee Sang’s “Jogamdo(Bird’s-eye View)”, “Ogamdo(Crow’s-eye View)” and “Nalgae(the Wings)” were created with different linguistic and genre intentions, but he faced unwanted results and got frustrated. Under these failure and fall, his literature formed multiple aspects through which it can sense and think based on a new formal base. This paper considers that there is a difference of Lee Sang’s literature in that it repeatedly performed avant-garde behavior even despite mismatch between the original intention and results. In chapter 2, Lee Sang’s ‘animal-metamorphosis’ was viewed as a strategy to understand modern man. The animal metamorphosis in “Jijuhoesi(Spiders Meet Pigs)” occurs in both ‘wife’ and ‘husband’ at the same time. The animal metamorphosis from ‘wife’ was a typical modern approach which confined madness, animality and uncertainty within the category of ‘crime’ or ‘women.’ The animal metamorphosis from ‘husband’ was the extimate madness approach of modern normal men who established their identity in a clear way by isolating ordinary people. While Franz Kafka’s metamorphosis handled an unstable incident arising from mismatch between sense and perception, Lee Sang’s metamorphosis disclosed the calm but eccentric daily routine of normal people who live their lives by matching sense and perception through leap of madness. Lee Sang attempted to reconstruct modern human nature through specific and sensible animal bodies. This structure corresponds with his literary structure which tried to contemplate previous perceptions through conversion into a specific form. This study estimated that Lee Sang’s works could also be reinterpreted in multiple aspects through the retroactive structure. His difficult and ideological work in an early stage “the Darkroom of Map” was analyzed through the later work “Ogamdo”. Then, an interpretation was added through “Jijuhoesi”. In particular, based on the narrative context of “Jijuhoesi” and situational similarity of “Ogamdo”, it was believed that ‘Parrot’ in the works speaks for the logic of human words which attempts to regulate position in a community. At the same time, this parrot which speaks human words and makes animal voices was viewed as the human image of paradoxical modernity, which has both clear human nature and extimate animality. In chapter 3, the correlations between the decline of Lee Sang’s literature which experienced linguistic and genre regressions and fall after ‘bird-metamorphosis’ in his works were discussed. Lee Sang went through linguistic regression to the relatively pre-modern Korean language from Japanese words that he saw as the language of modern thought. In his expression, it was a transition from ‘20th century’ to ‘19th century’. But this was a formal choice he made on his own. This paper tried to clarify that he has clear awareness that he would release his poems in Korean through the analysis of “1933, 6, 1” and supply of empirical data. Furthermore, this study investigated the aspect that clear altitude difference in the poems “Jogamdo” written in Japanese and “Ogamdo” written in Korean matches with Lee Sang’s decline which underwent linguistic fall from Japanese to Korean languages in a peculiar manner. In fact, this could be another piece of evidence which reveals that the repetitive struggles and frustrations of Lee Sang who intended to continue metamorphosis in a form of writing were embodied in his works. In addition, the falling process of Lee Sang who experienced genre regression from a poem to novel was discussed through the motif of ‘birds’. He believed that a novel was a 19th century genre. After the failure of “Ogamdo”, he became skeptical of a poem. Instead, he concentrated on a new genre, novel. This paper revealed that he focused on a novel with clear awareness through his letters with Kim Gi-rim and empirical data. The formal shift in Lee Sang’s literature was not a rise from a low to high level but a gradual fall from a high to low level. He contemplated and regretted the previous ones retroactively from the view of the results of fall. He was left in accidental modernity in which his intention and results were mismatched, facing different results from the modern ideal he dreamed of. Lee Sang is unique and special in that his acts continued even under failure and fall. After all, his literature has become as deep and attractive as the severity of the drop.; This study attempted to reexamine Lee Sang’s literature through the motif of ‘animal-metamorphosis’ and particularly repetitive ‘bird -metamorphosis’ in his works. The contention of this paper is that the metamorphosis of birds and animals goes along with the thinking structure of Lee Sang’s literature. In previous studies, the animals in his works were viewed as the creatures that are eager to escape from human or society. In this study, Lee Sang’s animality is perceived as the secret kernel which supports the clear identity of human. The theoretical concept proposed for this was ‘ex-timacy’ which can be compared to ‘externality’. There is a possibility that modern human nature was formed by excluding and suppressing inhumane madness as ‘the outside’. In fact, however, the inner side of human nature which eliminates inhumane insanity might be stained with 'extimate' madness. This study understands that ‘animal metamorphosis’ in Lee Sang’s works unveils extimate animality which exists deep inside a modern man. Another critical mind is as follows: ‘Bird’-related conventional studies discuss the meaning with limited works. This study insists that ‘bird metamorphosis’ corresponds to metamorphosis which appears across Lee Sang’s literature. Lee Sang’s form-decline process, which went through linguistic and genre regressions from Japanese to Korean languages and from poems to novels is curiously matched with content-falling process of birds which are found in his works. It appears that there was overlapping because the trial and error of a form was the contents itself of writing. The theoretical concept needed to explain the meaning of this repetitive fall was ‘retroactivity.’ In other words, there is no other choice that the causes of a certain act would be retroactively constructed through their results. After all, the results from a certain act break down the basis or conditions of its causes. The causes of existing acts were significant in the conditions prior to their occurrence only. After the acts, the causes should be reconstructed under new conditions. Lee Sang’s “Jogamdo(Bird’s-eye View)”, “Ogamdo(Crow’s-eye View)” and “Nalgae(the Wings)” were created with different linguistic and genre intentions, but he faced unwanted results and got frustrated. Under these failure and fall, his literature formed multiple aspects through which it can sense and think based on a new formal base. This paper considers that there is a difference of Lee Sang’s literature in that it repeatedly performed avant-garde behavior even despite mismatch between the original intention and results. In chapter 2, Lee Sang’s ‘animal-metamorphosis’ was viewed as a strategy to understand modern man. The animal metamorphosis in “Jijuhoesi(Spiders Meet Pigs)” occurs in both ‘wife’ and ‘husband’ at the same time. The animal metamorphosis from ‘wife’ was a typical modern approach which confined madness, animality and uncertainty within the category of ‘crime’ or ‘women.’ The animal metamorphosis from ‘husband’ was the extimate madness approach of modern normal men who established their identity in a clear way by isolating ordinary people. While Franz Kafka’s metamorphosis handled an unstable incident arising from mismatch between sense and perception, Lee Sang’s metamorphosis disclosed the calm but eccentric daily routine of normal people who live their lives by matching sense and perception through leap of madness. Lee Sang attempted to reconstruct modern human nature through specific and sensible animal bodies. This structure corresponds with his literary structure which tried to contemplate previous perceptions through conversion into a specific form. This study estimated that Lee Sang’s works could also be reinterpreted in multiple aspects through the retroactive structure. His difficult and ideological work in an early stage “the Darkroom of Map” was analyzed through the later work “Ogamdo”. Then, an interpretation was added through “Jijuhoesi”. In particular, based on the narrative context of “Jijuhoesi” and situational similarity of “Ogamdo”, it was believed that ‘Parrot’ in the works speaks for the logic of human words which attempts to regulate position in a community. At the same time, this parrot which speaks human words and makes animal voices was viewed as the human image of paradoxical modernity, which has both clear human nature and extimate animality. In chapter 3, the correlations between the decline of Lee Sang’s literature which experienced linguistic and genre regressions and fall after ‘bird-metamorphosis’ in his works were discussed. Lee Sang went through linguistic regression to the relatively pre-modern Korean language from Japanese words that he saw as the language of modern thought. In his expression, it was a transition from ‘20th century’ to ‘19th century’. But this was a formal choice he made on his own. This paper tried to clarify that he has clear awareness that he would release his poems in Korean through the analysis of “1933, 6, 1” and supply of empirical data. Furthermore, this study investigated the aspect that clear altitude difference in the poems “Jogamdo” written in Japanese and “Ogamdo” written in Korean matches with Lee Sang’s decline which underwent linguistic fall from Japanese to Korean languages in a peculiar manner. In fact, this could be another piece of evidence which reveals that the repetitive struggles and frustrations of Lee Sang who intended to continue metamorphosis in a form of writing were embodied in his works. In addition, the falling process of Lee Sang who experienced genre regression from a poem to novel was discussed through the motif of ‘birds’. He believed that a novel was a 19th century genre. After the failure of “Ogamdo”, he became skeptical of a poem. Instead, he concentrated on a new genre, novel. This paper revealed that he focused on a novel with clear awareness through his letters with Kim Gi-rim and empirical data. The formal shift in Lee Sang’s literature was not a rise from a low to high level but a gradual fall from a high to low level. He contemplated and regretted the previous ones retroactively from the view of the results of fall. He was left in accidental modernity in which his intention and results were mismatched, facing different results from the modern ideal he dreamed of. Lee Sang is unique and special in that his acts continued even under failure and fall. After all, his literature has become as deep and attractive as the severity of the drop.