래티머의 “두 가지 의식”: 『벗겨진 베일』에서 다시 읽는 조지 엘리엇의 공감 이론

Abstract

This article claims that George Eliot’s idea of sympathy requires the deconstruction of the Subject and that Latimer, in “The Lifted Veil,” fails to sympathize with others because he tries to hold on to his power as the Subject. Eliot’s “The Lifted Veil” is considered a problematic novel in her oeuvre, since it seems to contradict her belief that the major role of art is to expand readers’ sympathy. Although Latimer’s telepathic ability allows him to gain an insight into other people’s minds, it does not lead him to the sympathy that is expected of readers. While critics have attributed this to Latimer’s inability to maintain his “double consciousness,” this article argues that it is because of the double consciousness that Latimer cannot move away from his egoistic self and reach the other. Moreover, as double consciousness is a crucial concept in Eliot’s idea of sympathy, examining Latimer’s failed sympathy in terms of his double consciousness helps us rethink how Eliot conceptualizes the ethics of sympathy. In order to understand what double consciousness means in Eliot’s theory of sympathy, I first read Ludwig Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity closely, which had a major influence on Eliot’s ideas. Second, I analyze the conflict between Latimer’s ability to dissolve the boundaries of time, space, and the subject and his desire to retain the boundaries of his subjectivity. Finally, I look at Latimer’s egocentric reading of Bertha’s character and argue that Eliot’s idea of sympathy is based not on similarity but on difference. The article demonstrates that Latimer’s torments reflect the reading experience, which seeks to expand readers’ sympathy; by delineating his suffering, Eliot sends readers the message that sympathy is a painful process involving the splitting up of subjectivity.