“카탈로그 빠진 밀랍인형”: 『오래된 진귀품 가게』 속 물화된 인간의 개별성 (“Waxwork, Without a Catalogue:” Individuality of the Thinged Humans in The Old Curiosity Shop)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국영어영문학회
· 수록지 정보 : 영어영문학 / 69권 / 4호 / 729 ~ 752페이지
· 저자명 : 김소연

초록

Charles Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) delves into the culture of curio exhibitions in the 19th century, satisfying readers’ visual curiosity by showcasing “human curiosities” within the novel. Simultaneously, the narrative portrays certain key characters meeting their death, illustrating the ultimate state of thingness in human bodies. Dickens, who had an interest in the popular entertainment industry of 19th-century British society, encapsulates the contemporary culture where object-like humans and human-like objects were both presented as spectacles, including freak shows and wax figure exhibitions. Characters such as Nell Trent and Quilp exhibit characteristics resembling wax figures or automata, attracting the gaze of both other characters and the readers. Scenes featuring various characters evoke associations with circuses or freak shows, reflecting a culture where the human body is consumed as a spectacle. More importantly, in the essay “Some Recollection of Mortality,” Dickens reminisces about his frequent visits to the Paris Morgue, depicting the bewilderment induced among spectators seeking entertainment as they gazed upon the corpses that resembled wax figures. The imagery of these corpses helps us to better understand the portrayal of the dead bodies of Nell and Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop. Resisting the gaze of the spectators that commodifies them, the corpses of these two individuals suggest, as ‘imperfect replicas,’ the irreplicability, uniqueness, and individuality of their characters. The portrayal of Nell and Quilp’s bodies in death, attempting to ‘resemble’ their living counterparts just like wax effigies, paradoxically implies the presence of individuality and uniqueness of each character, now absent due to death.

영어초록

Charles Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) delves into the culture of curio exhibitions in the 19th century, satisfying readers’ visual curiosity by showcasing “human curiosities” within the novel. Simultaneously, the narrative portrays certain key characters meeting their death, illustrating the ultimate state of thingness in human bodies. Dickens, who had an interest in the popular entertainment industry of 19th-century British society, encapsulates the contemporary culture where object-like humans and human-like objects were both presented as spectacles, including freak shows and wax figure exhibitions. Characters such as Nell Trent and Quilp exhibit characteristics resembling wax figures or automata, attracting the gaze of both other characters and the readers. Scenes featuring various characters evoke associations with circuses or freak shows, reflecting a culture where the human body is consumed as a spectacle. More importantly, in the essay “Some Recollection of Mortality,” Dickens reminisces about his frequent visits to the Paris Morgue, depicting the bewilderment induced among spectators seeking entertainment as they gazed upon the corpses that resembled wax figures. The imagery of these corpses helps us to better understand the portrayal of the dead bodies of Nell and Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop. Resisting the gaze of the spectators that commodifies them, the corpses of these two individuals suggest, as ‘imperfect replicas,’ the irreplicability, uniqueness, and individuality of their characters. The portrayal of Nell and Quilp’s bodies in death, attempting to ‘resemble’ their living counterparts just like wax effigies, paradoxically implies the presence of individuality and uniqueness of each character, now absent due to death.

참고자료

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