특권의 울타리 밖으로: 『어둠이 오기 전 여름』에 나타난 여성 주체성과 자유의 문제 (Beyond the Pale of Privilege: Female Subjectivity and Freedom in The Summer Before the Dark)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 영미문학연구회
· 수록지 정보 : 영미문학연구 / 29호 / 5 ~ 28페이지
· 저자명 : 권영희

초록

Doris Lessing’s The Summer Before the Dark prefigures the third-wave feminism’s critique of the unitary notion of female subjecthood that undermined earlier women’s liberation movements. Centered on Kate Brown’s evolving consciousness, the novel illumines her spiritual journey to the recognition that while she has been sacrificed as an angel-in-the-house, she nevertheless is a beneficiary in the global system of exploitation. Lessing, in the earlier half of the novel, posits the protagonist along the two familiar lines of women’s liberation narratives: career pursuit and sexual autonomy. It becomes clear, though, neither work nor sex will salvage Kate from her deep sense of failure and intense spiritual crisis. Instead, Lessing allows her to experience a series of mirroring encounter; people of diverse social status induce her to reflect on what she really is in a way that opens her eyes to crucial facets of socioeconomic formation and operation, illuminating how they have determined her seemingly unique personality, not to mention of her life devoted to her family. Further, Kate learns to symbolically align herself with the underprivileged through a performative act of living as an ignored and therefore ‘invisible’ woman owing to unattractive look. Lessing ends this novel without presenting how Kate’s experience may result in significant changes in her life. Nevertheless, in the final act of returning home is embedded a potential of alternative forms of female subjectivity and liberation, rather than a debilitating failure or a gloomy social vision.

영어초록

Doris Lessing’s The Summer Before the Dark prefigures the third-wave feminism’s critique of the unitary notion of female subjecthood that undermined earlier women’s liberation movements. Centered on Kate Brown’s evolving consciousness, the novel illumines her spiritual journey to the recognition that while she has been sacrificed as an angel-in-the-house, she nevertheless is a beneficiary in the global system of exploitation. Lessing, in the earlier half of the novel, posits the protagonist along the two familiar lines of women’s liberation narratives: career pursuit and sexual autonomy. It becomes clear, though, neither work nor sex will salvage Kate from her deep sense of failure and intense spiritual crisis. Instead, Lessing allows her to experience a series of mirroring encounter; people of diverse social status induce her to reflect on what she really is in a way that opens her eyes to crucial facets of socioeconomic formation and operation, illuminating how they have determined her seemingly unique personality, not to mention of her life devoted to her family. Further, Kate learns to symbolically align herself with the underprivileged through a performative act of living as an ignored and therefore ‘invisible’ woman owing to unattractive look. Lessing ends this novel without presenting how Kate’s experience may result in significant changes in her life. Nevertheless, in the final act of returning home is embedded a potential of alternative forms of female subjectivity and liberation, rather than a debilitating failure or a gloomy social vision.

참고자료

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