『토지』 인물들의 아비투스가 빚어내는 서사 균형과 긴장

초록

This paper aims to examine the narrative functions of class habitus and artistic habitus embodied by characters in Park Kyong-ni’s novel Toji, thereby shedding light on the author’s artistic vision and creative principles. Park narrativizes the characters’ life orientations through the manifestation and transgression of their habitus, intricately weaving the complex layers of human existence and social structure. The character Sudong reveals the narrative force of class habitus through the internal conflict between its expression and his sense of ethical duty. Hamandac, having lost the symbolic capital of the yangban class, loses her sense of existence and ultimately chooses death; for her, the yangban status was both an object of desire and the core of her identity. These characters’ class habitus serves as a crucial turning point in the narrative, introducing tension and shifting its direction. In contrast, artistic figures such as Seoseobang and Bong-soon(Ki-hwa) ease narrative tension through their lives and songs, offering moments of calm and balance within an otherwise intense plot while evoking and reflecting on meaning. The proverb, “Stories may lie, but songs tell the truth,” symbolically captures their sincerity and narrative function. Their artistic habitus operates in a more static mode, mediating emotion and prompting reflection through song, thereby inducing emotional release. In sum, Toji assigns class habitus the role of generating narrative tension, while artistic habitus contributes to emotional resolution and overall balance. This rhythm of tension and relaxation reveals what may be called the author’s “ruthless sense of balance,” which underpins her narrative approach to human desire and moral choice and constitutes a central axis of her worldview. Ultimately, this study is significant in that it sharpens the concept of habitus as a narrative medium that forms the rhythm of tension and release in Toji, thereby providing meaningful insight into interpreting the intrinsic structure and mode of meaning-making in the work, and suggesting a new axis of interpretation for reading Toji.

키워드