한글장편소설에 나타난 여성과 종교의 관계 -여성인물과 佛·道의 관계를 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper was designed under the hypothesis that the meaning of religion in the life of upper-class women under the Confucian patriarchal order was complicated. Accordingly, the relationship between women and religion was examined for Korean classical novels that embody the narrative of upper-class women. To this end, first of all, we looked at the personality before the religious experience, the specific aspects of the religious experience, and the change in personality after the religious experience. Somunrok and Imhwajongyon show the story of a upper-class woman's suffering and show that a upper-class woman is passive in the face of suffering. At this time, the story of the past life appears, and meeting with religion is essential to solve the problems of the past life. In the Somunrok, a upper-class woman woman scribbles Neungumgyeong and Hwaeomgyeong with the identity of being a disciple of Avalokitesvara. In Imhwa Jeongyeon, a upper-class woman meets a transcendent and experiences the process of enlightenment. After the religious experience, female characters change to a subjective attitude toward life. In Boeungiurok and Myeonghaengjeonguirok, Upper class women violated the norms of gender discrimination. But in Boeungiurok, a upper-class woman is ashamed of her de-normative behavior by receiving Confucian teachings from the male protagonist, and then becomes a Taoist through Taoist training. In Myeonghaengjeonguirok, After three years of exposure to Buddhism, the upper-class women awaken and become Confucian norms of women. The above four works show how religion influenced the change in consciousness of female figures. However, there is a deviation in the meaning of the relationship between women and religion in response to the Confucian patriarchal order in the four novels. In Myeonghaengjeonguirok conveys the difficulty of living with virtue in the structure of polygamy through the relationship between women and Buddhism. In Somunrok, religion is interpreted as a mechanism that can trigger women's independent self-growth and oppose the Confucian patriarchy. The meaning of religion as a mechanism of resistance for women is deepened in Boeungiurok and Imhwajongyon. It is found that religion can be the potential to dream beyond the Confucian patriarchal order, as revealed by the two novels in which women practice the life of single women using religion.