<정을선전>의 악인 형상화와 그 의미

Abstract

Jeongeulseonjeon depicts both the conflict between a stepmother and her ex-wife's children, and the conflict between a wife and a wife. In this conflict situation, a moral character and an immoral character trying to harm him, that is, the good man and the bad man, form a confrontational structure. In the first half of the work, the protagonist Yoo Chun-yeon is abused and threatened with death by her stepmother, and in the second half, she is on the verge of death due to the plot of her second wife, Mr. Cho. At this time, the protagonist does not counterattack his opponent, but just endures and his goodness is highlighted. On the other hand, the stepmother and Mr. Cho commit evil deeds without hesitation or guilt, even when conspiring to harm the protagonist. In this way their wickedness is emphasized. The plot of confrontation between the good and the bad shows the good as the victim and the bad as the perpetrator. In particular, preconceived notions about the stepmother and the second wife also helped shape the villain as the perpetrator. So, readers of the novel were able to accept the narrative of the main character, who had achieved “Nemesis” and found his place, without any problems. In previous studies, the reason why the main character became a victim and threatened by the wicked was found in the contradiction of the family system and the reinforcement of the law. However, it cannot be overlooked that the wicked are also victims of the contradictions in the family system resulting from the strengthening of the clan rules. Rather, Jeongeulseonjeon was viewed as concealing the conflicts within the family caused by the contradiction of the family system by thoroughly blaming the motive and process of committing evil deeds to the fault of the individual.