芥川龍之介の「素盞嗚尊」(「大阪每日新聞」,1920)という作品は、作者のメモによれば「Revolt」→「Maturity」→「Elder」と いう三段階の成長過程によってスト-リ-が展開されていくが、この三段階の成長過程とは、本文に卽して考察すれば「少年」だった素盞嗚が「父親」として成長、そこからさらに「神」へと發展していくプロセスだったといえる。もちろん、 このような成長過程は、原典である日本神話のスサノヲにはみられない。日本神話のスサノヲは「永遠の少年」などとい われ、永遠に「母離れ」の出來ない未成熟な英雄として描かれているのである。從って、芥川版ㆍ素盞嗚尊は、原話に比 べ「父權確立」の志向が强く打ち出された英雄になっていることがわかる。ここに芥川文學における父性の問題も提起す ることが出來るであろう。

Ryunosuke Akutagawa``s Susanoo no Mikoto (Osaka Mainichi Shimbun, 1920), according to a note by the author, is a story that was developed through a three-step process: "Revolt" to "Maturity" to "Elder." Based on the text, one can say this three-step growth process involves Susanoo no Mikoto, a young boy, growing into a father and then becoming a god. Of course, this growth process is not evident in the original Japanese myth of Susanoo. In the myth, Susanoo was described as being eternally youthful, and he was depicted as an immature hero who was perpetually unable to separate himself from his mother. Unlike in the original legend, the hero of Akutagawa``s Susanoo no Mikoto exhibits a strong desire to establish his paternal rights. This characteristic shows that Akutagawa``s version includes the problem of failure to construct a tale of the establishment of paternal rights. However, it can likely be used to raise the question of what paternity means in Akutagawa``s literature.