함께 늙어가는 아내의 초상(肖像) -정원용(鄭元容)의 「아내 정경부인의 60세 수서 [內子貞敬夫人六十壽序]」를 중심으로-

Abstract

This study explores the portrayal of a wife in Jeong Won-yong’s “A Suseo to Mrs. Jung Kyung on Her 60th Birthday (內子貞敬夫人六十壽序)”. It investigates the format and portrayal techniques used in Jeong Won-yong’s Suseoes. Published in 1895 as part of Jeong Won-yong’s works, “A Suseo to Mrs. Jung Kyung on Her 60th Birthday” shines among his tributes to women for its lengthy and distinctive writing style. This study illuminates Jeong Won-yong’s literary persona and his perspectives on women. In “A Suseo to Mrs. Jung Kyung on Her 60th Birthday”, a narrative style unfolds a direct dialogue between the petitioner-the wife, and the creator—the husband. Through this direct question-and-answer format, the wife’s voice unveils, vividly portraying everyday scenes. Unlike other tributes to women, which chronicle their conduct chronologically and depict the universal life of women through their husbands/sons. It is completely different from the one where only the husband/son’s voice is revealed instead of the woman’s. Through this unique narrative approach, his wife emerges as a non-submissive ‘yangcheo’ (良妻) in female Suseoes. In this Suseo, the couple’s mutual counsel and journey through aging together are depicted as the wife enlightens the husband, illustrating that even if the subject of the female Suseoes is not as illustrious as Meng Guang (孟光) or Huan Shaojun (桓少君), she can still be immortalized in the tribute. While Jeong Won-yong’s patriarchal ideology is discernible in this Suseo, he diversifies the narrative format through his respectful portrayal of his wife.