『샬롯의 거미줄』에 나타난 여성리더십

Abstract

This paper aims to examine woman leadership presented in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web. This leadership is mainly found in a female spider, Charlotte, and her role in her relationship with a baby pig, Wilbur. Wilbur is meant to be killed because he is born weak. However, he manages to survive as Fern, daughter of the farmer, argues against her father that Wilbur deserves a life no matter how weak he is. After being sold to Homer Zuckerman, Wilbur feels very lonely but finds a precious friend, Charlotte. As he is excited about this newly found friend, however, he soon finds out that he will be killed around Christmas time. Charlotte's miracle to save Wilbur's life starts at this moment. Charlotte creates ꡐmiraculous wordsꡑ, which describe Wilbur's characteristics and these words trick people to believe that he is a very special pig. Wilbur gains fame because of the webbed words Charlotte makes and Mr.Zuckerman decides not to kill him. Charlotte's works to save Wilbur's life show particular features. Charlotte sacrifices her nutrition and her energy for Wilbur's sake. She also encourages other animals to cooperate the work. The animals that help to save Wilbur's life include Templeton, a selfish and unwanted rat, and even a rotten egg has its own role. Through Charlotte's loving friendship and her sacrifice, Wilbur also learns to love and give up his interests for other's sake. Charlotte dies but Wilbur takes her eggs, protects them and gives them their own names. Charlotte's leadership, in this way, can be said as a life-saving leadership at the expense of her own life. The story of Charlotte's Web also shows the subversion of power relations, which are established in male-dominated societies. In these societies, it is taken for granted that adults, men, human beings are superior to children, women, and animals, respectively. Charlotte's Web disrupts this hierarchy and explores subversive relations. In this story, human beings fool themselves by their own fixed ideas but Charlotte is wise enough to benefit from their vanity and stupidity. Charlotte's wisdom and humbleness contrasts to the people's vanity, their group mind, and blindness to what really happens in the farm. This aspect reflects Virginia Woolf's encouragement to be oneself instead of trying to influence others. That is, as Woolf emphasizes to subvert the perspectives valued in male-centered history and encourages women to find their own values and write a new history based on them. White seems to suggest the touching but powerful leadership of the weak and the unnoticed in the society through Charlotte's motherly love and androgynous wisdom.