Abstract
Through Rene Girard's theory of triangle of the desire, this research investigates the mimetic nature of desire as shown in the main character of the movie The Servant. This paper analyzes the structural transformation of desire in the character, which is revealed by the process of reinterpretation via the medium change and convergence from Chunhyangjeon, a classic oral novel in Korea, to The Servant, a movie created by director Dae-woo Kim in 2010. The Servant is a meaningful research subject as the transformation of the inner desire of the character is accomplished by boldly designating Bangja, who is supposed to be a minor character, as the protagonist. In particular, Rene Girard's argument on the indirectness of desire in the theory of triangle of the desire helps understand the point where the character' inner desire, which naturally occurred in the existing narrative, transforms into the mimetic desire by an intermediary. This indirectness of the mimetic desire of the main character suggests a similarity with modern men's vanity which is offered by the capitalist era. Through this, the modern meaning of the mimetic aspect of desire as revealed by the transformation from the movie The Servant to Chunhyangjeon can be understood.
