조지 엘리엇의 『사일러스 마아너』에 나타난 질병, 입양, 그리고 공동체의 성장 (Disease, Adoption, and the Growth of Community in George Eliot’s Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국근대영미소설학회
· 수록지 정보 : 근대영미소설 / 30권 / 1호 / 79 ~ 112페이지
· 저자명 : 황지연

초록

This essay examines the relationship between disease, adoption, and the growth of community represented in George Eliot’s Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe by focusing on social isolation of the patient and the effects of adoption and community on the healing process of the protagonist. First, it examines how the two characters with disease, Silas Marner and Molly Farren, are isolated from the society, mainly in the context of early to mid-nineteenth-century British responses to catalepsy and opium addiction. Next, this essay shows how Silas’s life changes from an extremely isolated life to a much more vibrant one with the arrival of Eppie after Molly’s death. Adoption of Eppie works as a turning point in Silas’s life, helping him recover from the effects of his disease and connect to the Raveloe community. With his fatherly love motivating his desire to give every good thing to Eppie, Silas gradually expands his engagement with the Raveloe community. In return, the people of Raveloe open their minds to him, and finally he comes to think of Raveloe as his home. Although Silas is not cured of catalepsy in a medical sense, he becomes a happy person again by overcoming the social isolation caused by his disease through increased social interaction. Thus, this essay ultimately argues that this novel can be read as a narrative of disease and recovery which emphasizes the importance of caring interaction between the patient and community.

영어초록

This essay examines the relationship between disease, adoption, and the growth of community represented in George Eliot’s Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe by focusing on social isolation of the patient and the effects of adoption and community on the healing process of the protagonist. First, it examines how the two characters with disease, Silas Marner and Molly Farren, are isolated from the society, mainly in the context of early to mid-nineteenth-century British responses to catalepsy and opium addiction. Next, this essay shows how Silas’s life changes from an extremely isolated life to a much more vibrant one with the arrival of Eppie after Molly’s death. Adoption of Eppie works as a turning point in Silas’s life, helping him recover from the effects of his disease and connect to the Raveloe community. With his fatherly love motivating his desire to give every good thing to Eppie, Silas gradually expands his engagement with the Raveloe community. In return, the people of Raveloe open their minds to him, and finally he comes to think of Raveloe as his home. Although Silas is not cured of catalepsy in a medical sense, he becomes a happy person again by overcoming the social isolation caused by his disease through increased social interaction. Thus, this essay ultimately argues that this novel can be read as a narrative of disease and recovery which emphasizes the importance of caring interaction between the patient and community.

참고자료

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