한산이씨의 『고행록』으로 본 조선후기 사대부가 여성의 삶

Abstract

This thesis examines a gentry woman’s life in the Joseon Dynasty focusing on the book 『Asceticism』 written by Mrs. Hansan Lee when she was around 60 years old. Mrs. Hansan Lee, a granddaughter of Agae Leesanhye who served as a prime minister of the Joseon dynasty, was born in 1659 and lived to 69 years old. In 1676 when she was 18 years old she got married to Umyungchun. Her husband Umyungchun successively filled various government posts, so Mrs. Hansan Lee was appointed to the Jungbuin Oemyeongbu. Umyungchun was the succeeding grandson of the U family in Jinju and one of the Namingae political line. He was sentenced to exile three times during King Sukjong’s political upheaval. Glory turned to asceticism because of the political struggle. Exile is a punishment, which can only be lifted by a pardon from the King. But even in the case of pardon return to one’s own hometown is impossible. In these circumstances Mrs. Hansan Lee decided to move to her husband’s place of exile. She had to transfer to several places but managed to supervise conventional practices and funeral rites. Mrs. Hansan Lee wrote the book 『Asceticism』 for her descendants. She believed she should accept and endure the family’s hardship, and wanted to inform her descendants of her own specific life experiences. Her attitude towards life became the standard to console the family during political struggle. In this way her book 『Asceticism』 became widely read.