Comparison of 〈The Bridal Mask〉 and 〈The Mark of Zorro〉: A Comparative Study on Mask of Resistance between East and West

This thesis focuses on the fact that the masks of〈The Mark of Zorro〉and〈The Bridal Mask〉 only cover half of the hero’s face, which has two effects. The symbol of resistance hides the identity of the hero, but exposes the angry facial expression of the hero against imperialism. Zorro and Gaksital are half-masked folk heroes with similar images. Despite many similarities, the heroes show a completely different way of fighting; Zorro, like The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, borrows a narrative style that romanticizes the adventures of knights. In contrast, Gaksital shows the process by which the people on behalf of the nation are organized into ‘righteous army’ when the nation is on the verge of perishing; this difference stems from the United States’ cultural inferiority to Europe. The USA developed rapidly as white people drove Native Americans and forced ‘black people’ to migrate and use them as slaves or factory workers. Therefore, politically and economically, they want to be independent of Europe, but culturally, they have no cultural foundation and history like Greek mythology, so they chose a way of resistance that satisfies both Spaniards and indigenous peoples. Zorro is reduced to being ascribed to the myth of ‘European Sovereign Goddess’, leaving the possibility of being accepted as part of the founding myth of the United States in the absence of the myth of the Americas.