ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This paper examines Kazuo Ishguro’s The Remains of the Day employing Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction theory as a critical lens. Twentieth-century structuralism emphasized the concept of individual units that can only exist in relation to one another. Yet, Derrida posits that this reliance can obscure the binary opposition, where one signifier is inextricably tied to a particular signified. This paper contends that any literary text inherently embodies the concept of dissemination, signifying an inescapable experience of untranslatability. To explicate this concept, the study examines three elements within The Remains of the Day ― the title of the work, the protagonist Stevens, and Kenton’s letter. Firstly, translating the original title of the book into a single Korean title inevitably diminishes the disseminated fecundity of the text(title). Secondly, the identification of Stevens with Great Britain may also obscure the difference between the privileged class and the butler society. Finally, Kenton’s letter exemplifies all these deconstruction process by prompting Stevens to experience the dissemination.

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