현대소설에 나타난 여성 의복ㆍ장신구와 여성 의식 연구

Abstract

This study analyses the meaning of female clothing and ornament in Korean modern novels from 1980s to 2000s so as to interpret how women’s viewpoint and understanding were revealed. Especially, this study focuses on novel female characters’ way of reacting to clothing fashion, the interpretation of women’s clothing favorites and the meaning of women’s ornament. Also, this study analyses women’s clothing reactions that are done acquiescently, rebelliously or strategically in patriarchal culture. Reading women’s viewpoint and understanding which women’s clothing reactions show in literature context is new method to find out various meanings in Korean modern novels, and is meaningful nowadays, when multi-sided and in-depth study of Korean female culture is needed. Female characters’ reactions in clothing are not just material desire but the aspiration for obtaining self-identity and social status. The reactions have no concrete prototype because in clothing fashion, instinct to imitate collides with instinct to be different. Korean modern novels from 1980s to 2000s describe incessantly changing vogue and disclose that sense of unity with society and self-identity acquired in changeable vogue are inevitably disintegrative and fragmental. Sometimes female characters reject vogue and show exotic clothing. Those rejection and exotic action express disapproval of and challenge to the world. Impractical and uncomfortable high heel and one-piece clothes are the icons that reflect critically women’s state in patriarchal culture. In this state, there can be two choices for women. One is wearing feminine look to make use of patriarchal culture strategically. The other is wearing “Annie Hall look” to rebel against patriarchal culture. Both of the two choices reveal women’s oppressed state because intentional womanly action and intentional manly action are alike as distorted reaction in patriarchal culture. Not only feminine look but also “Annie Hall look” are not the best fits for women, which is the women’s dilemma. Another choice is to change female clothes creatively. Strange style that combines woman-typical softness with unexpected hardness upsets female clothing’s connotation, that is, lethargy and acquiescence. Women utilize ornaments’ magical power to get over body limit and to have secret and original power. Jewels, especially diamonds that illuminate light over the body boundary give women the power to expand her body range and to transcend self-limit. Tattoo and body-painting which represent feminine power are the incantation to get rid of fear of meat-eating and murder-occurring society. Those tattoo and body-painting show the desire to meet the nature and to reach the primitive-being.