As the modern novel emerged as a narrative mode that suited the tastes of readers of a modern capitalist society, the role of storytelling has inevitably been diminished in the realm of literature. However, there is no denying that the instinctive urge of people to tell and listen to stories has functioned as a driving force behind the further development of the modern novel.
The novelist Yi Mun-yol has been a central figure of Korea’s 20th-century literature. In order to understand his impressive stature in the literary scene as well as the avid enthusiasm of his readers, it would be helpful to approach his work from various perspectives. Without a doubt, the writer’s exceptional storytelling skills form the foundation of his literary success, while the charm and impact of his novels can be explained by other factors. Along with his extensive reading and wealth of knowledge, his inclination toward cultural refinement and his encyclopedic memory have enabled Lee to excavate splendidly variegated themes from every nook and cranny of human affairs.
His flowing sentences and sophisticated style create a powerful impact as a result of his innate talent and mastery of Eastern as well as Western classics. Yi’s novels are also characterized by his romantic awareness of the world, rooted in his “longing for something far away,” or his nostalgic, and somewhat regressive, pursuit of an incarnation of Oriental sentiments. In addition, due to the fact that his father had fled to North Korea, Yi has struggled to understand and overcome his family history. Amid this struggle, he has formed his own ideology that is critical of the violence and meaninglessness of ideological conflict, and has consistently dealt with this matter in his novels, confronting one of the most contentious subjects in Korea’s modern literature, along with the division of the country.
Literary critics point out that Yi’s originality results primarily from his consummate storytelling talent. But this is not to say that he is insensitive to the particular status and potential of the modern novel, which is different from the pre-modern modes of storytelling, such as epic poems and romances. As in Hail to the Emperor!, one of his seminal novels, the anachronism he creates in his works is mainly intentional. Moreover, through his exquisite storytelling, he makes known his criticism of the direction in which the modern novel is headed.
Especially noteworthy is that the brilliance of Yi’s storytelling is closely linked to another of his distinctive characteristics: his ability to weave a story with a predetermined conception at its center. The motley collection of themes that he has addressed in his novels does not necessarily reflect reality, while he tends to maintain a firm personal opinion about these subjects. Accordingly, his narratives seem to develop less as an exploration of reality, than as a sophisticated literary rhetoric to support and verify his perspective. Often, this elegant rhetoric is endowed in content and style by his renowned wealth of knowledge and cultural refinement, as well as his fluid and eloquent structure. The key feature of Yi’s creative methodology is the influence that “predetermined conceptions” wield over the narratives to produce his stories. This characteristic style is well reflected in “The Island of Anonymity.” Set in a secluded clan village deep in the mountains of Gyeongsangnam-do Province, this story is a kind of anthropological case study about how women in the village deal with their repressed sexual desire. During the course of the story, the author adeptly broadens a theme of anonymity, which is commonly thought of as an inherent quality of modern urban life, into a universal issue relevant to all humankind.
The story starts with a scene in which the protagonist, a middle-aged woman, watches TV with her husband. He deplores the cases of sexual depravity and moral degradation reported on TV, for which he blames the anonymous nature of modern society. Her husband’s moralizing remarks take the woman back to the time when she had just graduated from college and was assigned to teach at an elementary school in a remote mountainous village. What she experienced there proved that, contrary to her husband’s presumptive attitude, even a secluded clan village, where every member is related by blood, is not necessarily free from the deviant behavior associated with anonymity.
The memorable experience is neatly arranged in her recollection to produce a specific conclusion, of which every element, from the beginning to the end, is integrated. On the day the young teacher arrives at the bus station of the small mountain village, she comes across a strange man with dreamy eyes, which seem to have a flicker of madness. Questions that arose in her mind about this strange man and the villagers are answered, one by one, through close observation, logical reasoning, and conversations with her colleague. The subplots and episodes that the author includes in the story are so smooth and natural that everything seems to fit together perfectly.
The flowing narratives of “An Anonymous Island” can be attributed to the fact that the story has been composed deductively based on a predetermined conclusion. So, it is not surprising to find out at the end that the curious man with strange eyes is a common lover of the village women. The man relieves these women of their repressed sexual desire, with the implicit consent of the male villagers, including the husbands of the women. The “shocking” confession, that the protagonist also unexpectedly joined this openly secret sexual arrangement, serves as an elaborate rationale that the author has prepared to further attenuate the narrative. Here, again we can see the author’s creative methodology that places a predetermined conception ahead of other components of a storyline.
In order for a society to sustain itself, it may be necessary to control desire that exceeds reasonable levels. Therefore, the role of a man, like the one in this story, might reflect a kind of anthropological universality as well as an existential validity as an outlet to relieve the tension rooted in repressed desire. Furthermore, the existence of this man is an allegory for the behind-the-scenes aspects of human society. Although this anthropological insight may not have been the author’s original idea, his outstanding storytelling ability, in which he weaves an enchanting story around this phenomenon, is reason