경계의 내면화와 감각의 저항: 『작은 것들의 신』(The God of Small Things)을 중심으로

초록

The purpose of this paper is to examine how The God of Small Things portrays the transformation of female subjectivity negotiated with Ammu and Rahel within the multilayered boundaries of Indian society. This study focuses on the intersecting powers of caste, religion, and gender, adopting “internalization of boundaries” and “sensory resistance” as its key analytical frameworks. The former refers to the process through which institutional norms and hierarchies permeate everyday emotions and behaviors, while the latter denotes the disruption of those boundaries through unspoken feelings, gestures, and silences. Ammu resists inherited hierarchies through radical escape and the rejection of patriarchal lineage, whereas Rahel embodies the sensory memory of forbidden wounds, responding through nonverbal acts that unsettle normative order. By juxtaposing Ammu's defiance with Rahel's subtle disruptions, the novel reveals how subjects who have internalized oppression can reconfigure relationships and destabilize taboo through embodied, non-linguistic practices.

키워드