공생과 공멸의 이중주: 윌라 캐더의 ｢아프로디테가 오다!｣

초록

This study explores the intricate relationship between artistic ambition and interpersonal dynamics in Willa Cather’s “Coming, Aphrodite!” by focusing on the legend of the Rain Queen embedded within the narrative. While previous scholarship has predominantly viewed the story through the lenses of artistic stances, voyeurism, and patriarchal control, this paper proposes a new interpretive framework centered on the concepts of symbiosis and mutual destruction. The analysis begins by reinterpreting the Aztec legend, where the act of tattooing the princess’s body is seen as an ontological fusion between the artist (the captive) and his medium (the princess). This mythical structure is then mirrored in the contemporary plot in which Don Hedger’s voyeuristic gaze functions as a psychological tattoo, an attempt to imprint his artistic vision onto Eden Bower’s overwhelming physical vitality. However, this symbiotic bond is inherently unstable. While Hedger seeks to mythologize Eden to rejuvenate his stagnant art, Eden views Hedger merely as a "chief adventure" to facilitate her worldly success. The study further argues that their eventual separation reflects the tragic conclusion of the legend. Just as the execution of the captive and the queen led to a permanent drought, the disconnect between Hedger’s isolated high art and Eden’s hollow commercial stardom results in an enduring emotional and spiritual barrenness. Ultimately, Cather illustrates that a symbiosis based on mutual instrumentalization, rather than genuine communication, inevitably collapses into a state of mutual destruction, leaving behind a landscape of solitary masters and soulless icons.

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