『토지』의 재난서사 - 콜레라(호열자)를 중심으로 -

초록

Land(Toji)’ is a work that depicts the history of national disasters and personal disasters. This study examines the author’s perception of disaster and the narrative function of the disaster by examining the disaster narrative of the pandemic situation surrounding the outbreak of cholera in ‘Land’. ‘Land’ describes the responses and reactions of the characters in disaster situations by enlarging the cause, symptoms, and healing process of the 1902 cholera infection in the narrative. It not only presents the process of the pandemic itself in the form of fear, obsession, and madness centering on human psychology, but also narrates the tolerance and solidarity of people who have been hit by disasters, centering on figures such as ‘Su-dong’, ‘Gil-sang’, and ‘Yong’. In addition, in ‘Land’, the disaster of cholera also functions as an indicator of colonization and decolonization. The outbreak of cholera in 1902 ultimately led to Seo-hee and her party choosing Yongjeong(Longging) to launch an independence movement. In this way, by narrating the disaster of the cholera outbreak with specific historical facts in 1902 and 1940 as the background, it solidifies the position of ‘Land’ as a historical novel. Also, in ‘Land’, disaster is not a catastrophe, apocalyptic or eschatological meaning, but is a factor affecting human life in a long period of natural history. This is based on the author’s perception of literature as an inquiry into the ‘unknown’ life process of the ‘unknown’ creature in human history. As such, the disaster narrative of ‘Land’, is the moment that triggers the contingency of human life and the opportunity to move forward with care and solidarity. This study confirms the meaning of ‘Land’, as a historical novel in that the first and fifth parts of ‘Land’ are based on actual historical facts and that ‘disaster’ acts as a trigger for the post-colonial narrative. In addition, it proves that the author’s will to coexist in caring and solidarity through ‘disaster’ as the contingency of life is also revealed in the disaster narrative.

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