우울증의 탐구와 관계 확장을 통한 치유의 가능성: 샬롯 스미스의 『이민자들』

초록

This paper analyzes Charlotte Smith’s The Emigrants, focusing on how Smith explores her own melancholia, and that of the French Exiles, while expanding the range of sympathetic relationships with others. In Book I, Smith frequently interferes with the narrative of exiles. She identifies herself with alienated French people, but simultaneously keeps distant from them by criticizing the contemporary political situation of France. The observation of exiles and the speaker’s imaginary relationship with them lead Smith to rediscover England as a curative space. In Book II, Smith’s criticism of war and the desecration of liberty becomes stronger, and she weaves the unfortunate French people into the community called “we” with the power of sympathy. Investigating human woes in a wider perspective, she finds peace in nature, and consolation from the possibility of healing the community by writing poetry. Oscillating between a performative speaker who observes various aspects of melancholia and a woman in a pensive mood, Smith connects her own suffering with that of French emigrants. Instead of withdrawing into the self, the speaker of The Emigrants extends her vision from herself, to others, and to the future, which implies a possibility of healing.

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