〈우렁각시〉설화의 현대적 변용과 남녀 관계 - 소설〈나의 우렁 총각 이야기〉와 웹툰〈우렁각시〉를 중심으로 -

초록

This paper examines the dynamics and meanings of changing gender relationships as depicted in two modern reinterpretations of the folktale “Wooreonggaksi” (Snail Bride): the novel The Story of My Bachelor in a Shell and the webtoon “Wooreonggaksi,” with a focus on how these works transform Wooreonggaksi’s character to challenge and compromise the gender hierarchy. In the novel The Story of My Bachelor in a Shell, unlike the folktale “Wooreonggaksi” where Wooreonggaksi appears, a “Wooreong Bachelor” is introduced. In the novel, the Wooreong Bachelor is portrayed as an otherworldly male who can be purchased by humans. At the same time, the human woman establishes a hierarchical relationship with the Wooreong Bachelor as a “human-other.” As a consumer of capitalist goods, the human woman occupies a superior position to the purchasable Wooreong Bachelor. This portrayal of the woman as superior might be interpreted as subverting gender hierarchies, but it actually repeats the relationship between the one who holds superior status and the other who is objectified. Therefore, this novel shows a compromise that becomes part of the order it attempts to subvert, rather than presenting an alternative world. The webtoon “Wooreonggaksi” establishes a homosexual relationship between the female protagonist and Wooreonggaksi. However, the homosexual element of the webtoon does not pose resistance to or critique heterosexuality, but functions merely as a tool to establish character relationships. The college student Dami and Wooreonggaksi are not in an equal relationship, as Wooreonggaksi serves Dami as her “husband,” which evokes a patriarchal relationship of superior and subordinate rather than constructing an equal homosexual family relationship between a human and Wooreonggaksi. Although there is a homosexual element, the hierarchical family relationship formed between the human woman and Wooreonggaksi can be seen as maintaining the signifier of the “father” while concealing it. Both the novel and webtoon attempt to subvert traditional gender roles and the institutions of the past. However, the gender role reversal in the novel and ambiguous homosexual elements in the webtoon do not achieve true subversion. Instead, they fail to completely overcome the limitations of patriarchy and end up repeating existing systems.

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