밀란 쿤데라의 문학과 체코문학의 국제성

Milan Kundera's literature and Czech literature are deeply rooted in the tradition of European Literature. Not only does Kundera see his creations as a contribution to eastern or central European life but also as a contribution to the European culture as a whole. The concept of ‘globalism’ or ‘internationalism’ in Czech literature was actively developed near the end of 19th century which was the age of modernism. After the May generation, for the writers of cosmopolitan viewpoint who pursued the internationalization of Czech literature of the 1860's, the most pressing task of Czech literature at the end of the 19th century was to follow the Western Europe. The Lumir generation (Lumirovci) of the 1880s led this movement. Vrchlicky and Zayer played leading roles in this movement. By the efforts and achievements of these writers Czech literature advanced to the level of Europe and soon, it was able to continue to stay in par with the West European tradition. In 1918 the Czech Republic along with Slovakia formed the independent country of Czechoslovakia and was able to create a vibrant literature. However with the advent of Hitler's invasion, World War II and the communism of Czechoslovakia, the progress of Czech literature seemed to stray away from the European tradition. Not only that, the modern trend of liberalism that was brought about during the 1960's also cultivated a new environment in Czech literature. It was in this setting that Milan Kundera started writing his works in earnest. When the ‘Socialist Movement with a Human Face’ of Czechoslovakia was oppressed by Russian tanks in 1968 many writers including Kundera felt the crisis of losing their national identity. In this period, also considered as the 2nd period of Kundera's literature, the political chaos stabilized into the undesirable form of communism, also called ‘Normalization.’ The internationalism of Kundera's literary world began to appear more clearly in his new works. It is well known that Czech literature and other fields of Czech culture have deep roots in European cultural tradition. It can be said that the literature of Josef Skvorecky, while he was active in Toronto, Canada after 1968, and Kundera, while he was active in Paris after 1975, are cosmopolitan in nature. In this paper, I will look into Kundera's life and works and try to examine the internationalism of Czech and Kundera's literature focusing mainly on Jacob and His Master. It was written by Kundera during the ‘Prague Spring’ incident when Russian tanks occupied Prague, the capital of his homeland, Czechoslovakia. This work is not considered as the basis of Kundera's literature, Laughable Loves and The Joke written before the incident. The relationship between Jacob and his master is reminiscent to the relationship between Martin, who plays the role of Don Juan, and the narrator, his erotic disciple, and also pertains hints of Life is Elsewhere and The Farewell Party. Besides these two distinctive qualities of this dramatic work, no other elements of Kundera's writing appear. It is said that whenever Kundera had a chance he showed a heightened interest in European literature, especially in 17th and 18th century French literature, in his essays and literary debates. He read the works of French satirical writers of that time and was deeply impressed by their works that can be easily inferred that he was highly influenced by these writers in his creativity. He even admits that his play Jacob and His Master can be considered as a variation of Diderot's novel Jacques Le Fataliste. Diderot says that the father of his literature is Cervantes and Laurence Stern; in the same light, Kundera also shows his reverence to the great writers of the Renaissance and Enlightenment Age.

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