고전소설 훼절 모티프 속 지역민과 서울 사람의 형상에 담긴 의미

Abstract

This study focuses on the motif of hwejeol (毁節, loss of integrity) in the social novels Jibongjeon, Jeonghyangjeon, Jongokjeon, and Oyuranjeon, offering a fresh perspective on their shared themes. While these works have traditionally been understood as satirical critiques of the hypocrisy of the upper-class male elite, this paper argues that their core concern lies in encouraging self-reflection among these elite figures. By confronting their prejudices and arrogance toward provincial regions and people, the novels ultimately seek to promote harmony across regional, social, and gender boundaries. Social novels aim to uphold the values of harmony and unity (daedong, 大同), with the hwejeol incidents of aristocratic men serving as narrative devices to expose and address social inequality. Reinterpreting their narrative structures from this perspective reveals an overlooked dimension of conflict—namely, the discriminatory attitudes toward the provinces by those in the capital (gyeonghyang, 京鄕). Most social novels set their stories in provincial areas, contrasting them with the capital, and portray the capital’s residents as the protagonists. The provincial characters, in turn, broaden the narrow perspectives of the capital’s elite in a lighthearted manner, fostering interaction and communication between these regions. Given that social novels were likely rooted in empirical realities, the attitudes displayed by provincial characters can be seen as reflecting a historical context in which the people outside the capital embraced those in Seoul with magnanimity, aspiring to a larger vision of national unity and reconciliation.