『토지』에 나타난 결혼의 양상과 의미

Abstract

A good portion of the marriages found in the Toji make unhappy cases. And it's worth noticing that those characters right in the middle of the unhappy cases struggle to live through yielding to no obstacles in order not to become the sacrifices of their unhappy marriages. It was the Donghak people that led the movement to criticize the marriage-related evil practices in the front. The Donghak people of the Toji include Kim Gae-ju, Song Gwan-su, and Kim Gang-soi, among which the Donghak general Kim Gae-ju is attracted to Mrs. Yun that is a young widow for such a long time and violates her in the end. Kim Hwan, his son, shoots the moon with the lady that resides in a separate house of the family and also is his elder brother's wife, falling in love with her. The author of the novel, however, doesn't describe them as criminals that committed a rape or adultery but as those who lived their whole life missing their one love deep inside the heart. Among the many marriages in the Toji, the following bonds are deemed major; the one between Seo-hee and Gil-sang, the one between Im Myeong-hee and Jo Yong-ha, the one between Hong-i and Bo-yeon, and the one between Yong-i and Wol-seon. Their marriages share one common feature, which is connecting the love between two people whose love cannot be fruitful for some reasons including the differences in the social status, the position as a new woman, and the hard-to-overcome gap between the class of good people and that of low birth.