『전염병 연대기』와 『프랑켄슈타인』에 나타난 전염병과 기후 변화—재난 서사 연구 동향 (Plague Epidemics and Climate Change in A Journal of the Plague Year and Frankenstein: Recent Studies on Disaster Narratives)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국근대영미소설학회
· 수록지 정보 : 근대영미소설 / 30권 / 2호 / 85 ~ 109페이지
· 저자명 : 박하정

초록

In the context of the current pandemic and climate crises, this essay surveys recent studies on disaster narratives in Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein focusing on plague epidemics and climate change. While early reception of Defoe’s Journal was devoted to the genre issues between history and fiction, the novel is recently getting renewed attention as a plague narrative. Critics show how Defoe uses the devastating 1665 Great Plague of London, either as a way to prepare for the imminent threat of the Marseilles plague that occurred in 1720, or as a metaphor to portray the already existing class issues in London. Others discuss how Defoe offers comments on the contemporary issues such as the sensational media that incite people’s anxiety and fear, and the city’s surveillant power enforcing quarantine policies. Similarly, Frankenstein is being re-read as a novel dealing with climate calamities caused by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Mount Tambora in 1815. Focusing on the climatic disaster in 1816, known as the “year without a summer,” recent studies reexamine Frankenstein’s polar frame and show Shelley engages in contemporary climate discussions. Ultimately critics show how disasters have become a global phenomenon and how the two works emphasize ethical awareness to cope with those disasters.

영어초록

In the context of the current pandemic and climate crises, this essay surveys recent studies on disaster narratives in Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein focusing on plague epidemics and climate change. While early reception of Defoe’s Journal was devoted to the genre issues between history and fiction, the novel is recently getting renewed attention as a plague narrative. Critics show how Defoe uses the devastating 1665 Great Plague of London, either as a way to prepare for the imminent threat of the Marseilles plague that occurred in 1720, or as a metaphor to portray the already existing class issues in London. Others discuss how Defoe offers comments on the contemporary issues such as the sensational media that incite people’s anxiety and fear, and the city’s surveillant power enforcing quarantine policies. Similarly, Frankenstein is being re-read as a novel dealing with climate calamities caused by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Mount Tambora in 1815. Focusing on the climatic disaster in 1816, known as the “year without a summer,” recent studies reexamine Frankenstein’s polar frame and show Shelley engages in contemporary climate discussions. Ultimately critics show how disasters have become a global phenomenon and how the two works emphasize ethical awareness to cope with those disasters.

참고자료

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