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A Study on Natsume Soseki’s 『Ten Nights of Dreams』 —The deep landscape of existence that Soseki using the dream method—

  • 日本硏究
  • 2020, (52), pp.111-129
  • DOI : 10.20404/jscau.2020.02.52.111
  • Publisher : The Center for Japanese Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Japanese Language and Literature
  • Received : December 31, 2019
  • Accepted : January 29, 2020
  • Published : February 20, 2020

Kim Nan Hee 1

1제주대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The works of Natsume Soseki are unique in that they utilize “dreams” as an important literary method and, therefore, feature a multitude of dreams. In keeping with this,『Ten Nights of Dreams』consists of ten different forms of dreams. This paper investigates『Ten Nights of Dreams』in connection with the deep landscape the author has buried deep in his unconscious mind. It can be seen that projected within is the theory of the flow of consciousness, intuition, and the continuation of time, a theory that was formulated by William James and Henri Bergson. The research methodology that this dissertation adopts is the theory of the unconscious of shadow, anima, and archetype, which are the main concepts of Jungian psychology. This paper looks into the deep landscape rooted in his mind that Soseki expresses by making use of dreams and dividing it into five different motifs: (1) a being bound in time (1) Eros and Thanatos (3) distrust of paternity (4) art and acts of art, and (5) the “mismatch” of men and women. In order to reveal his own deep unconscious mind, Soseki tried a unique ecriture experiment, known as a “dream method.” The dream is what portrays one’s unconsciousness. The writer thinks that the shadow sitting deep in the mind can be expressed more consciously than an actual dreams by taking the form of, and in a manner of speaking, masquerading as a dream. Soseki is an author who has discovered that literature, dreams, and life are alike. As such, it can be concluded that he straightforwardly reveals his own existence by means of a dream.

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