여성영웅소설에 나타난 젠더 정체성 형성의 양상과 그 교육적 의미-<홍계월전>과 <방한림전>을 중심으로-

Abstract

This study focused on the fact that female heroic novel is ‘the story in which female characters grow into the hero’, and examined the Identity formation of female characters from the perspective of gender and clarified its educational meaning. First, the aspects of gender identity development appeared in Honggyewoljeon and Banghallymjeon were reviewed in view of individuals and the society. Both Honggyewoljeon and Banghallymjeon focus on the lives of the women, who did not follow the gender norms of the society, and the process that they went through to develop their capabilities to get the social status and power were described to show the growth process of women. As they lived their own lives without limitation of their biological gender out of the women’s identity, they showed to materialize that gender was not given but established by the actions. The individual and the society were interconnected, and mutual recognitions are required. Hong Gyewol and Bang Gwanjoo unveiled the strong barrier, androcentrism which existed between them and the world by will and capability and changed the perception on them. As a result, women were accepted as the members of community with the social status. Their identities and life styles were recognized socially by demonstrating the positive attitude on the capability of women from those who were neighbors representing the society system and ideas of the times. This is to project the friendly worldview to the women’s capabilities, which can be considered to apply the idea of ability system prioritizing the capabilities of the individuals to gender, classes, and ranks. Then, the educational meaning from the aspects of gender identity development in these novels was reviewed in view of thinking system and life style. Heroine is the existence to be in confrontation and coexisted with both femininity and masculinity without fixing either gender to suggest the issue of dichotomy thinking system, which can be considered as the reasonable and meaningful fictional existence. In the female hero novels, the inherent issues of the human-being, which they wanted to live with their needed ways rather than fixed by the society in the framework of heroine narration, were revealed to expand the scope of recognition on various identities and types of lifestyles. It is very important for both men and women to select the lifestyle to fit in their lives as the independent human-beings. In this sense, femininity and masculinity are not fixed but continuously changed to be reorganized to cope with the times and the situations, which should be considered. In this respect, Honggyewoljeon and Banghallymjeon have the educational meanings that showed the open viewpoint beyond the existing rigid recognition on the thinking system and lifestyle.