The Structure of Subject Formation in Snow White: A Freudian,  Lacanian, and Kleinian Psychoanalytic Reading

doi:10.22716/sckt.2025.13.2.007

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2025 Vol.13, Issue 2 Preview Page Next Page

Research Article

The Structure of Subject Formation in Snow White: A Freudian, Lacanian, and Kleinian Psychoanalytic Reading 『백설공주』에 나타난 주체 형성의 구조: 프로이트, 라캉, 클라인을 통한 정신분석적 독해: Seon-Young Park¹
박선영¹; ¹Full Professor, Department of Childhood education, Chungcheong University

¹충청대학교 유아교육과 교수

30 June 2025. pp. 75-87

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Abstract

본 논문은 고전 동화 󰡔백설공주󰡕 의 서사와 구조를 S. 프로이트, 자크 라캉과 멜라니 클라인의 정신분석 이론에 기반하여 해석함으로써 주체 형성과 욕망, 불안, 타자와의 관계를 중심으로 이야기의 상징적 구조를 재조명한다. 프로이트의 오이디푸스 콤플렉스 개념은 왕비와 백설공주 간 대립을 잘 해명해준다. 라캉의 이론을 통해 백설공주는 상상계의 이미지, 상징계의 언어, 실재계의 외상을 차례로 통과하며 주체로 재구성되는 여정을 보여준다. 왕비는 타자의 시선에 의해 자기 동일성을 위협받고 투사와 파괴를 반복하는 존재로 등장한다. 클라인의 관점에서는 여왕의 행위를 투사적 동일화, 편집-분열적 위치로 분석하고 백설공주의 죽음과 되살아남을 우울적 위치와 회복의 과정으로 해석한다. 특히 유리관 속 썩지 않는 백설공주의 형상은 실재계의 침입과 응시의 구조를 시각적으로 구현한다. 라캉과 클라인의 개념은 서로 보완적으로 작용하며 문학 텍스트가 인간 심리의 무의식 구조를 어떻게 형상화하는지를 밝혀준다. 그리고 백설공주에 대한 전복적 재읽기를 통해 백설공주가 진정한 주체로 나아가는 방향성을 논의했다. 본 분석은 단순한 선악 대결의 동화로 읽히던 󰡔백설공주󰡕를 외상, 결핍, 욕망, 대상관계의 심리적 드라마로 재해석하였다. 본 연구는 문학과 정신분석 간의 융합적 독해 가능성을 제시하며 현대적 시각에서 고전 서사를 재구성하는 하나의 이론적 틀을 제공한다.

This study offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of the classic fairy tale Snow White through the theories of S. Freud, Jacques Lacan and Melanie Klein. Freud’s concept of the Oedipus complex offers a compelling explanation for the conflict between the Queen and Snow White. From a Lacanian perspective, Snow White transitions through the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real, revealing the structural dynamics of subject formation. The Queen is portrayed as a fragmented subject driven by projection and symbolic displacement. Klein’s concepts of projective identification, the paranoid-schizoid position, and the depressive position help explain the emotional and relational dynamics between characters. Snow White’s symbolic death and revival are interpreted as a passage through trauma and reparation. The incorruptible body in the glass coffin is read as a visual manifestation of the Real and the structure of the gaze. This study also explored how a subversive reading of Snow White can suggest a trajectory toward her emergence as a genuine subject. Combining Lacanian and Kleinian frameworks, this study reframes Snow White as a psychological drama of desire, fragmentation, and symbolic rebirth. It contributes to the dialogue between literature and psychoanalysis by reinterpreting classic narrative through modern theory.

Keywords

Snow White

S. Freud

J. Lacan

M. Klein

Oedipus complex

Subject formation

References

J. Grimm, and W. Grimm, 이민수 역, "그림동화집", 노블마인, 2005.
B. Bettelheim, The Use of Enchantment, 1975, 김옥순, 주옥 역, "옛이야기의 매력1", 시공주니어, 2000.
J. Lacan, "The mirror stage as formative of the function of the I as revealed in psychoanalytic experience", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 1-7, 1977[Original work published 1949].
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S. Freud, "The Ego and id", J. Strachey, Trans. In SE 19, Hogarth Press, 1961[Original work published 1923].
J. Lacan, "On a question prior to any possible treatment of psychosis", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 179-225, 1977[Original work published 1958].
10.4324/9781003209140-6
J. Lacan, Les Quatre Concepts Fondamentaux de la Psychanalyse, 맹정현, 이수련 역, "세미나11: 정신분석의 네 가지 근본 개념", 새물결, 2008[Original work published 1964].
J. Lacan, "The Function and field of speech and language in psychoanalysis", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 30-113, 1977[Original work published 1953].
10.4324/9781003209140-3
J. Lacan, "The Subversion of the subject and the dialectic of desire in the Freudian unconscious", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 292-325, 1977[Original work published 1960].
10.4324/9781003209140-9
J. Lacan, "Aggressivity in psychoanalysis", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 8-29, 1977[Original work published 1953].
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J. Lacan, The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Book III: The Psychoses, 1955-1956, Seminar III: The Psychoses, J.-A. Miller, Ed., R. Grigg, Trans., W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
J. Lacan, "The Signification of the phallus", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 281-291, 1977[Original work published 1958].
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M. Klein, "Notes on some schizoid mechanisms", The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 27, pp. 99-110, 1946.
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Information

Publisher :The Society of Convergence Knowledge
Publisher(Ko) :융복합지식학회
Journal Title :The Society of Convergence Knowledge Transactions
Journal Title(Ko) :융복합지식학회논문지
Volume : 13
No :2
Pages :75-87
DOI :https://doi.org/10.22716/sckt.2025.13.2.007

[1] J. Grimm, and W. Grimm, 이민수 역, "그림동화집", 노블마인, 2005.

[2] B. Bettelheim, The Use of Enchantment, 1975, 김옥순, 주옥 역, "옛이야기의 매력1", 시공주니어, 2000.

[3] J. Lacan, "The mirror stage as formative of the function of the I as revealed in psychoanalytic experience", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 1-7, 1977[Original work published 1949].
10.4324/9781003209140-1

[4] S. Freud, "The Ego and id", J. Strachey, Trans. In SE 19, Hogarth Press, 1961[Original work published 1923].

[5] J. Lacan, "On a question prior to any possible treatment of psychosis", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 179-225, 1977[Original work published 1958].
10.4324/9781003209140-6

[6] J. Lacan, Les Quatre Concepts Fondamentaux de la Psychanalyse, 맹정현, 이수련 역, "세미나11: 정신분석의 네 가지 근본 개념", 새물결, 2008[Original work published 1964].

[7] J. Lacan, "The Function and field of speech and language in psychoanalysis", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 30-113, 1977[Original work published 1953].
10.4324/9781003209140-3

[8] J. Lacan, "The Subversion of the subject and the dialectic of desire in the Freudian unconscious", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 292-325, 1977[Original work published 1960].
10.4324/9781003209140-9

[9] J. Lacan, "Aggressivity in psychoanalysis", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 8-29, 1977[Original work published 1953].
10.4324/9781003209140-2

[10] J. Lacan, The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Book III: The Psychoses, 1955-1956, Seminar III: The Psychoses, J.-A. Miller, Ed., R. Grigg, Trans., W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.

[11] J. Lacan, "The Signification of the phallus", A. Sheridan, Trans. In Écrits: A Selection, W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 281-291, 1977[Original work published 1958].
10.4324/9781003209140-8

[12] M. Klein, "Notes on some schizoid mechanisms", The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 27, pp. 99-110, 1946.

[13] M. Klein, "Mourning and its relation to manic-depressive states", The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 21, pp. 125-153, 1940.

The Society of Convergence Knowledge Transactions ISSN:2287-8920(Print) 융복합지식학회논문지

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