ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Since the publication of his graphic memoir Blankets (2003), Craig Thompson has garnered acclaim across various media for his artistic achievement. Scholars in literary and comics studies have primarily focused on the spatial characteristics of the work, such as the recurring landscapes of rural Wisconsin or the interconnected dynamics between home and school. According to scholars, Thompson’s upbringing in a quiet, predominantly white town in Wisconsin shapes his development into an artist who visualizes space in distinctive ways. Departing from existing studies that emphasize the impact of spatiality in the graphic memoir, this paper analyzes how Thompson constructs an emotional structure to recall his disturbing childhood. While previous research has centered on the spatial dimensions of Blankets, this study examines how the emotions of shame and guilt arise from specific events within the family, school, and Christian communities of rural Wisconsin. By analyzing episodes involving parental violence, racial and economic marginalization, sexual trauma, and religious conflict, this paper demonstrates ways that shame and guilt, both independently and in tandem, shape the formation of the narrator’s artistic identity. Given the distinctive features of life writings, Thompson’s narrative allows the narrating I to revisit and interrogate the emotions of the narrated I, enabling a critical process through which he attempts self-restoration. This paper argues that Thompson utilizes his graphic memoir to reconfigure the boundaries between the private and public spheres, transforming painful memories into a reflective and restorative narrative space.

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