장소와 무장소: 「19호실로」와 '어둠이 오기 전의 여름'에서의 방의 서사 (Place and Non-Place: Narrative of a Room in “To Room Nineteen” and The Summer before the Dark)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국현대영미소설학회
· 수록지 정보 : 현대영미소설 / 19권 / 1호 / 27 ~ 56페이지
· 저자명 : 박선화

초록

This paper examines Doris Lessing’s “To Room Nineteen” (1963) and The Summer Before the Dark (1973) in light of Edward Relph’s theory of place and placelessness (or non-place). In Place and Placelessness Relph as a humanistic geographer emphasizes the correlation between a room and an individual’s identity; with insideness of the room, the individual can develop confidence in life, while with its outsideness he or she is vulnerable to isolation, loss, and despair. The term ‘placelessness’ which was coined by Relph is used to explain not only that the room has no meaning to the dwellers, but also that the dwellers do not have any feelings of affection towards it. So, whether they have an intimate or meaningful relationship with the room plays a vital role in their experience.
The stories of Susan Rowlings and Kate Brown who are both from middle class families near London in the 1960s show that they are closely related to their own room, which is desperately sought as a means of avoiding or overcoming the repression and unfair treatment of the family. It is taken for granted that they are useless or “unreasonable” after they have used all their energy in raising their children, and that their husbands have affairs after the wives’ long-term faithfulness and devotion. Every family member forgets they, despite their intelligence, had to sacrifice their successful careers after marriage, which makes Susan and Kate depressed and thereby search for their own room. However, in the end they choose a totally different life from one another; one kills herself in Room 19 of a hotel, and the other decides to return home and continue her life after traveling room to room.
Susan has no feeling about the room and feels enclosed, threatened, unsafe and stressed rather than safe and at ease. She is separated or alienated from the room, family, children and husband (outsideness). Kate, conversely, immerses herself deeply in each room where she stays and has experiences as a manager, a lover and a godmother, which makes her feel comfortable in the rooms (insideness). Therefore, it is shown that life can be changeable according to the individual’s approach towards their room. The individual has to try and be open-minded towards the room, and understand and embrace it and then, above all, focus on human intentions, experiences and actions related to the room in everyday life. This suggests the more profound an individual’s feelings are when inside the room, the stronger they will identify with that room.

영어초록

This paper examines Doris Lessing’s “To Room Nineteen” (1963) and The Summer Before the Dark (1973) in light of Edward Relph’s theory of place and placelessness (or non-place). In Place and Placelessness Relph as a humanistic geographer emphasizes the correlation between a room and an individual’s identity; with insideness of the room, the individual can develop confidence in life, while with its outsideness he or she is vulnerable to isolation, loss, and despair. The term ‘placelessness’ which was coined by Relph is used to explain not only that the room has no meaning to the dwellers, but also that the dwellers do not have any feelings of affection towards it. So, whether they have an intimate or meaningful relationship with the room plays a vital role in their experience.
The stories of Susan Rowlings and Kate Brown who are both from middle class families near London in the 1960s show that they are closely related to their own room, which is desperately sought as a means of avoiding or overcoming the repression and unfair treatment of the family. It is taken for granted that they are useless or “unreasonable” after they have used all their energy in raising their children, and that their husbands have affairs after the wives’ long-term faithfulness and devotion. Every family member forgets they, despite their intelligence, had to sacrifice their successful careers after marriage, which makes Susan and Kate depressed and thereby search for their own room. However, in the end they choose a totally different life from one another; one kills herself in Room 19 of a hotel, and the other decides to return home and continue her life after traveling room to room.
Susan has no feeling about the room and feels enclosed, threatened, unsafe and stressed rather than safe and at ease. She is separated or alienated from the room, family, children and husband (outsideness). Kate, conversely, immerses herself deeply in each room where she stays and has experiences as a manager, a lover and a godmother, which makes her feel comfortable in the rooms (insideness). Therefore, it is shown that life can be changeable according to the individual’s approach towards their room. The individual has to try and be open-minded towards the room, and understand and embrace it and then, above all, focus on human intentions, experiences and actions related to the room in everyday life. This suggests the more profound an individual’s feelings are when inside the room, the stronger they will identify with that room.

참고자료

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