이양하 수필의 토포필리아(Topophilia) 연구

Abstract

Lee, Yang Ha is the contributor who has developed the Korean essay, has led to the modern essay, and has played a critical role for the essay to become one of the genres of the literature. Lee Yang Ha's essay implies the elements that could be abstracted from a literary work such as solitude and youth, art and friend, and grateful life and love. These are derived from his experience that has guided to become a constant man lowering himself based on his thought and behavior that are reasonable and truthful. The experiences are formed in particular places, and the beautiful memory and nostalgia in the places create the topophilia. The concept of the topophilia is examined in ChapterⅡ, and the life of Lee Yang Ha and the development of the essay is reviewed in ChapterⅢ. In ChapterⅣ, the natural and essential elements that form the topophilia implied in his essay are examined. The elements are derived from his experience, and they become the places that have the meaning and value. Lee Yang Ha expresses his honest and open-hearted mind through his essay by reflecting his lonely situation. First, 'people' are the places for love that have the image of safety and perpetuity. The place for love is the emotion felt from a wet nurse, a elder aunt, Ilyeon, Kyungi, and Kuni. Their existence itself is small and simple. However, all of them become the places to give vitality to Lee Yang Ha. The wet nurse is the object of absolute nostalgia. She is described as the great achievement that provides nourishment, the repository of emotional memory, and the oneself that gives inspiration. The elder aunt is like a tree that stands for a long time in one place although the time and scenery changes around it, and she is always pleased whenever he visits. Ilyeon and Kyungi are the children that help forget the loneliness, and feel love as an image of a comfort place giving pleasure. It is the love and nostalgia that hope for them to remain still as children. While the wet nurse and the elder aunt hold the perpetuity as the original topophilia, Ilyeon and Kyungi help form the topophilia as valuable friends essential for the community where neighbors' generosity is expressed. All of them become the imageable places of safety and perpetuity that are small, but big, and normal, but great. Second, 'house' is the topophilia, which is revived by recollection technique. The cottage where Lee Yang Ha grew up and the small house on Wau Mountain that he used to stay are the places that speak for Lee Yang Ha's loneliness. Although the loneliness in the place used to lead him to an extremely difficult situation, it resulted in the fruit of the willingness to do writing and to identify his existence by introspecting himself. The very fact that he used to live in that place makes the place lovely. Likewise, Songjeon is the nostalgic place where he can feel intimacy, pleasure, and comfort instantaneously, and a toy store in Kyoto is also the place that has Lee Yang Ha's insight reach the high stage to find Japan from subtle color of small toy clothes. The places in Lee Yang Ha's essay are close to the experiences of subjective feelings, and they are located in deep inside. So it is often hard to understand them and to find a word to shape them. However, the places are engraved in his memory, and it gives a strong feeling of satisfaction whenever each memory comes up. Third, the 'countries' where Lee Yang Ha has traveled help create the topophila. Lee Yang Ha shows that the places are visualized through various ways based on the trip to the Western countries. He expresses amazement, envy, and admiration toward the development of countries such as America, England, Italy, and France and their honest nationality. The feelings are connected with the love of his own country. His patriotism is not an active patriotism such as sacrificing his life and fortune, but it is the love that concerns the nation and the people and the hope that desires to live with others. In the consideration, he sweeps a garden more, and digs a brook deeper. Lee Yang Ha's topophilia that enjoys even in a small improvement with those trivial works appears through the practice of his experience. Fourth, 'nature' is the topophilia for harmonization and recovery. The nature itself is comfort and pleasure to Lee Yang Ha. So he chooses the nature as the object to heal the loneliness arisen from unconsciousness, and understand himself as a part of the nature. By doing so, he gets undistorted essence back. Lee Yang Ha not only reacts to space and place in a conceivable simple way, but also systemizes the meaningless natural environment. Lee Yang Ha desires a life with the nature. However, it does not mean that he loathes the world and has unworldly thought. He is pleased to be with others, and he thinks of human as the most beautiful being although they have many weaknesses. It is worth notice that Lee Yang Ha who has positive thought toward human tries to find the nature and feel comfort. Lee Yang Ha's love of the nature can be found in harmonization among the nature order, the instinct rapport, and essential friendship. His recognition for the nature is the generous place for harmonization that can overcome human's loneliness and recover stagnant ego. Accordingly, Lee Yang Ha's essay wants to lead others by contemplating the life, and is an action to become a sage knowing his place. To Lee Yang Ha, the essay is the stage for love, the open space for solidarity of life, the place of revolution that mental inclination reaches, and the blossoming place of the topophilia.