ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

This study analyzes the ecofeminist elements in Choi Eun-young’s novel Bright Night, employing Hans-Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics and Paul Ricoeur’s depth hermeneutics as its theoretical framework. Centered on the lives of four generations of women from the Japanese colonial period to the present, 『Bright Night』 critiques the patriarchal family system and hierarchical social structures, while proposing the possibility of an alternative narrative of family based on a women-centered community of care. In particular, the relationships between female characters and nonhuman beings in the novel reveal an ethic of ecological interdependence necessary for survival. The solidarity between characters such as Saebi and Samcheon, Young-ok and Hee-ja, Mi-seon and Myung-hee, Ji-yeon and Ji-woo, as well as the caring relationships with nonhuman entities like Bomi, Gwiri, and Hyunmi, embodies a literary critique of anthropocentrism, patriarchy, and capitalist efficiency, while affirming an ethic of care and responsiveness. Furthermore, the space of “Heeryeong” functions as a site where memories and relationships are layered and re-germinate, symbolizing an ecological community that enables the healing and transformation of wounded beings. In this way, Bright Night can be understood as a literary embodiment of ecofeminist thinking, envisioning a community where humans and nonhuman beings coexist. This vision also aligns with the author’s stated creative intention to portray “a narrative of wounds and the recovery of existence.”

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