데이먼 갤것의『착한 의사 』—자기와 타자의 만남과 작품해석의 변증법

This study aims to analyze South African novelist, Damon Galgut’s The Good Doctor from the perspective of the dialectics of I and the Other and of interpretations. In the novel the protagonist and narrator, Frank Eloff wishes to maintain the status quo and isolation, but Laurence Waters’s appearance at the hospital disturbs Frank’s desire. The encountering with Laurence initiates a dialectical movement and a struggle for recognition begins. Through this process Frank’s and Laurence’s worlds of simulation, built on words and symbols, are shaken and each sublimates to a different subject. The dialectical movement is not confined to the different subjects but extends to the interpretations of the novel itself. In the early phase of the study of the novel, it was considered a realist work representing contemporary South African socio-political condition and Frank’s cynicism was widely and deeply criticised. However, other scholars have since focused on its poststructural characteristics and emphasized Frank’s willingness to accept his pliable identity and future.