The American influence on the literary works of Yourcenar

유르스나르의 문학작품에 나타난 미국의 영향

Although Marguerite Yourcenar, a representative French woman writer, lived 47 years in the United States from 1939 to 1987, the American influence on her life has not been studied either at home or abroad. The purpose of this study is to examine chronologically the American influence on the following three literary works of Yourcenar: The Little Mermaid (1942), River Deep, Dark River (1966) and Recluse (1982). The Little Mermaid is a drama, presented in musical format, about the identity crisis and inner conflict of Yourcenar. Unlike the little mermaid who burst like a bubble in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, Yourcenar associates her death with the image of ascension. River Deep, dark river is a translation of the Negro spiritual expressing the suffering of African Americans. Recluse, her last novel, deals with the life story of a simple man living in nature on a small island. This novel shows Yourcenar's desire for a pure world that is not defiled by human greed. Yourcenar sponsored major human rights organizations and environmental groups in her life, and donated her entire fortune for human rights and the protection of Wild Fauna and Flora. The American influence on the literary works of Yourcenar can be summarized as a "great turning point", because she was transformed from a humanistic writer into an intellectual actor.