Children and nature are not yet highly regarded in Korea because they are not the responsible or acting agent unlike adult and technology. However, as the pure mirrors reflecting human society interacting with nature, the sacrifice of children and their rebirth through water in children’s literature such as Princess Bari, Sim Cheong and The Water Babies reveal both the idealized value-laden ecosystem and some moral conflicts in human society. This study aims at the recovery of the innocence of children and affinity with nature in our postindustrial society, and argues that the sacrifice of children through water is commonly used in the texts as a source of inspiration, implying the importance of ecocentric values in our efforts to recover wholeness, along with the cultural differences of ecological and societal ethics. Overall, the victimization of innocent children in these stories is the very process of kenotic ethics toward great Love for all living and non-living things. By emptying our selves through the tears of sacrificed children, we can come closest to the heart of the ecosystem. (Hannam University)
목차
Abstract I. Introduction II. Cultural Differences in Sacrifice Rituals III. “Why Do the Innocent Suffer?”: The Sacrifice of Children and the Kenotic Ethic IV. Conclusion: Water, Children and Healing Works Cited
키워드
kenosisgraceecoismchildrensacrificewaternaturePrincess BariSim CheongThe Water Babies