박완서의 『한 말씀만 하소서』에 나타난 ‘신의 흔적’ (Trace of God Found in Novelist Park Wan-seo's Writing)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국문학과종교학회
· 수록지 정보 : 문학과 종교 / 16권 / 3호 / 121 ~ 144페이지
· 저자명 : 조회경

초록

In this paper, the idea of the 'trace of God' is discussed through the mediums of death and suffering in Please Say the One Word, by novelist Park Wan-seo. In this collection of diary entries, the author refers to the phenomenology of religion and philosophy. Park shares a commonality with philosopher Emmanuel Levinas in that both struggled through extreme existential agony, while never resorting to theodicy.
Park’s work can largely be divided into pre and post-1988, the turning point being the loss of her son. Faced with the unimaginable suffering of losing her only son that year, Park yearned to encounter God face-to-face. She retreated to a solitary room in a convent where she fought with countless difficult questions. It was a heartbreaking time of struggle and self-denial which she faithfully recorded in Please Say the One Word.
Throughout this process, God stayed silent. And yet, “I” gradually approached the realm of fundamentality through three unexpected encounters at the convent.
One day, “I” came across a nun who carries the bedpan of the patients, with a smile on her face, and “I” am confronted with a basic question of ‘why I am here’. “I” transcend ‘the limited thinking of a finite being’ and feel the power of God’s calling. However, “I” quickly relapse into the world of doubt and misery.
Then “I” meet a young nun and learn how to accept the pain from her. Still, the extreme, unsalvageable suffering persists, and “I” violently resent God.
Next, “I” meet a woman who comes to visit her daughter, the nun. And “I” feel terrible humiliation and despair that my suffering provided consolation to the woman. The unbearable suffering forces me to vomit all the food, and as the body regains its peaceful state, a realization comes that my sin was 'through indifference to others'. Then God reveals his presence in my prayers.
Park’s journal suggests we can have a relationship with God only through imploring, yearning and praying. According to Levinas, this is the most fundamental form of relationship between a human and God. As a finite being, Park’s suffering and yearning does not vanish. Nevertheless, the fact that we yearn for God imbues the ‘trace of God’ with meaning.
In the text, the divine epiphany is shown in two expressions: Eat to live, and become what you eat. In the agony of the loss of a son, Park rediscovers what it means to be human as an entity that eats to sustain life. Eating and living are the very mediums that guide us to understand, forgive and accept others.
As Park struggles with God in the human world, she finally comes to fully recognize others. Through encounters with others, she reaches divine epiphany gradually and naturally. As if putting together puzzle pieces in a given dimension of time, she vicariously experiences God’s touch and voice. The value of Please Say the One Word can be found in its depiction of epiphany, or trace of God, that creates emotional ripples in its readers’ minds.

영어초록

In this paper, the idea of the 'trace of God' is discussed through the mediums of death and suffering in Please Say the One Word, by novelist Park Wan-seo. In this collection of diary entries, the author refers to the phenomenology of religion and philosophy. Park shares a commonality with philosopher Emmanuel Levinas in that both struggled through extreme existential agony, while never resorting to theodicy.
Park’s work can largely be divided into pre and post-1988, the turning point being the loss of her son. Faced with the unimaginable suffering of losing her only son that year, Park yearned to encounter God face-to-face. She retreated to a solitary room in a convent where she fought with countless difficult questions. It was a heartbreaking time of struggle and self-denial which she faithfully recorded in Please Say the One Word.
Throughout this process, God stayed silent. And yet, “I” gradually approached the realm of fundamentality through three unexpected encounters at the convent.
One day, “I” came across a nun who carries the bedpan of the patients, with a smile on her face, and “I” am confronted with a basic question of ‘why I am here’. “I” transcend ‘the limited thinking of a finite being’ and feel the power of God’s calling. However, “I” quickly relapse into the world of doubt and misery.
Then “I” meet a young nun and learn how to accept the pain from her. Still, the extreme, unsalvageable suffering persists, and “I” violently resent God.
Next, “I” meet a woman who comes to visit her daughter, the nun. And “I” feel terrible humiliation and despair that my suffering provided consolation to the woman. The unbearable suffering forces me to vomit all the food, and as the body regains its peaceful state, a realization comes that my sin was 'through indifference to others'. Then God reveals his presence in my prayers.
Park’s journal suggests we can have a relationship with God only through imploring, yearning and praying. According to Levinas, this is the most fundamental form of relationship between a human and God. As a finite being, Park’s suffering and yearning does not vanish. Nevertheless, the fact that we yearn for God imbues the ‘trace of God’ with meaning.
In the text, the divine epiphany is shown in two expressions: Eat to live, and become what you eat. In the agony of the loss of a son, Park rediscovers what it means to be human as an entity that eats to sustain life. Eating and living are the very mediums that guide us to understand, forgive and accept others.
As Park struggles with God in the human world, she finally comes to fully recognize others. Through encounters with others, she reaches divine epiphany gradually and naturally. As if putting together puzzle pieces in a given dimension of time, she vicariously experiences God’s touch and voice. The value of Please Say the One Word can be found in its depiction of epiphany, or trace of God, that creates emotional ripples in its readers’ minds.

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