이 논문의 목적은 조선 후기에 대량으로 산출되어 18,19세기 소설사의 중심을 이룬 영웅소설 연구에 대한 기존 연구사를 검토하고 작품의 실상보다는 ‘담론’ 차원에서 무성하게 이루어지고 있는 연구들 속의 편견을 보여주고자 하는 것이다. 이 논문에서 특히 집중적으로 다룬 연구 영역은 영웅소설의 정체성과 범주, 하위 유형, 서사구조에 대한 논쟁적 담론들이다. 기존 연구들에서 보여주는 편견은, 무엇보다도 영웅소설은 유형성이 강하니까 ‘부분’만으로도 ‘전체’를 쉽게 알 수 있다거나, 작품성이 다소 떨어지는 가운데 대량으로 산출된 것이니까 몇 개의 하위 유형으로 쉽게 나눌 수 있다는 것이었다. 영웅소설의 전체적인 수량에 대한 정밀한 검토 없이 인기 순에 따른 일부 작품을 대상으로 연구가 진행되면서, 가문소설, 가정소설, 판소리계 소설 등 인접 유형(계통)과의 활발한 교섭 아래 형성되어 온 영웅소설의 외연을 포착하지 못하고, 중심에 있는 일부 작품을 대상으로 영웅소설의 성격을 논하고 하위 유형을 설정하고, 서사구조를 ‘영웅의 일생’ 구조에 대한 다양한 변주로 파악하고 있었다.그러나 이제 우리는 영웅소설에 대한 거시적 관점에서 범주와 대상을 재조정하고, 그런 바탕에서 개별 작품 혹은 소수의 하위 유형들을 통한 귀납적 연구에 좀더 많은 관심을 기울여야 한다고 생각한다. 그리고 서사구조 역시 단 하나의 마스터 플롯에서 벗어나 좀더 다양한 서사구조 모형을 설정할 필요가 있다고 본다. 즉 영웅소설의 유형성에 너무 집착한 데서 오는 편견을 극복하고 영웅소설에 대한 연구를 ‘종합적으로’ 그리고 ‘일거에’ 하기보다는 한 걸음 한 걸음씩 나아가는 자세가 필요한 것이다.

The purpose of this study is to survey the existing studies about heroic novel which had been constituted the center of 18 and 19 centuries novel. And also the purpose of this study is to show the prejudice of the studies of the heroic novel which is focused on the discourse about the works rather than the work itself. Especially the object which I tried to handle is the argumental discourses about the identity, category, sub-type, and narrative structure of the heroic novel. The prejudice of the existing studies, I think, is above all the idea that the character of heroic novel is typical, so they can see easily 'the whole' from 'the part', or it can be divided into several sub-types because it was produced in a large quantities. Without concrete investigation about the whole volume of the heroic novel works, the studies have been observed only some famous works, so they missed the extension of the heroic novel which conversed with neighboring novel like family novel, domestic novel, or pansori novel. They interpreted narrative pattern as one of the diverse variants of biographical pattern of the heroic novel, and discuss only some works of the major heroic novels. But now, I think, we must readjust the category and objects in a broad prospective and have more interests on the inductive study about the individual works or a minor of sub-types. And we need to establish more diverse narrative structure models rather than only one master plot. I think it is the time that we need the studies which advance step by step rather than doing 'comprehensively' or 'all at once', being free from the prejudice produced by the attachment to the typical heroic novel.

The purpose of this study is to survey the existing studies about heroic novel which had been constituted the center of 18 and 19 centuries novel. And also the purpose of this study is to show the prejudice of the studies of the heroic novel which is focused on the discourse about the works rather than the work itself. Especially the object which I tried to handle is the argumental discourses about the identity, category, sub-type, and narrative structure of the heroic novel. The prejudice of the existing studies, I think, is above all the idea that the character of heroic novel is typical, so they can see easily 'the whole' from 'the part', or it can be divided into several sub-types because it was produced in a large quantities. Without concrete investigation about the whole volume of the heroic novel works, the studies have been observed only some famous works, so they missed the extension of the heroic novel which conversed with neighboring novel like family novel, domestic novel, or pansori novel. They interpreted narrative pattern as one of the diverse variants of biographical pattern of the heroic novel, and discuss only some works of the major heroic novels. But now, I think, we must readjust the category and objects in a broad prospective and have more interests on the inductive study about the individual works or a minor of sub-types. And we need to establish more diverse narrative structure models rather than only one master plot. I think it is the time that we need the studies which advance step by step rather than doing 'comprehensively' or 'all at once', being free from the prejudice produced by the attachment to the typical heroic novel.

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heroic novel, military novel, category, sub-type, narrative structure