외로운 청년의 ‘생의 반려’ 찾기 : 김유정 문학(관)에 대한 새로운 모색

Abstract

This article attempts to define a driving force that shaped Kim Yujǒng’s literary world, often characterized by the struggle to overcome his distrusts and deep-looted skepticism about people, and feelings of alienation and separation from the people. Simultaneously, Kim Yujǒng’s literary world engages with the world of others, and especially a series of his autobiographical novels, including A Companion for Life (From July to September, 1936), Elder Brother (November 1939), A Sad Story (December 1936), and Yaaeng (July 1936), deals with his anxiety as well as aspiration to be a part of the world.BR The distrusts of people, rooted in his bitter experience with his own family, have significantly influenced his work. He considered literature as a tool to overcome feelings of hatred and reconnect himself to the outside world. The creation of literature was therefore the most reliable and effective medium for Kim to experience people in an indirect way. Also, he stressed ‘power of delivery’ and ‘scope’ (contents of delivery) rather than literary technique and expression. The main topic of Kim’s literary works is love. In this regard, love means a possibility to restore the bonds of affective relationship. The feelings of alienation and severance ironically also drove Kim to overcome the fear through writing. His two biographical works, A Companion for Life and Elder Brother , contain the feelings of hatred derived from the family. On the other hand, A Sad Story describes that a couple and family has separated and conflicted by the lust of money, narrated from the viewpoint of ‘I,’ which reflects the writer’s own ego. In contrast, Yaaeng reveals a possibility of the reconciliation of a broken family and restoration of affection.BR Conclusively, literary works of Kim Yu-jǒng communicate with the outside world and restore the relationship. The trauma originated from his childhood, marred by unhappy family, which helped him to focus on the literary work and bridge himself with the outer world. Therefore, Kim’s novels can be understood as the process of communication and, the process of life and dream, liberating from isolation and separation.