The literature of Catherine II and the image of freemason in the late 18^th century Russia: the case of anti-freemason trilogy from Catherine II

예카테리나 2세의 문학과 18세기 후반 러시아 프리메이슨의 형상: 예카테리나 2세의 '안티-프리메이슨 삼부작'을 중심으로

This article attempts to explore the literature of Catherine the second, focusing on her comedies in the light of anti-freemasonry in the late 18th-centuryof Russia. Her main idea towards social morals was consistently expressed from in her early comedies during 1770s, such as 'Oh! times!'(1772), to her late counterparts during 1880s, such as so called 'anti-freemason trilogy,' which includes 'the deceiver'(1785), 'the deceived one'(1785) and 'Siberian shaman'(1786). By depicting antagonists-freemasons in her own trilogy, only as alchemists, shamans, fallacious chemists, hypocritical medical doctors, and so on, Caterine the second intended to undermine the mason influence against Russian Empire, which had ideationally attracted Russian nobles and intellectuals and furthermore to reinforce her political control over the intellectuals as well as the public. The above literacy attempts by Catherine can be said to aim to found morals of her own era through the utilization of social discourse, rather than through the political or governmental control.