李漁의 동성애 작품 분석 — 상대적 도덕관념을 중심으로

Abstract

This study analyzes the work through Patrick Hanan’s “relative morality” based on Li-Yu’s homosexuality work. The main subjects of study are Wushengxi, Shierlou. Li-Yu described male homosexuality in Wushengxi and Shierlou. According to my research, most of the Li Yu’s works mention male or female homosexuality, indicating that Li-Yu used this material very freely. Li-Yu was a popular writer of literature following Fengmonglong and Lingmengchu, and he must have understood the needs of readers at that time. Therefore, the subject of male homosexuality at the forefront of the trend would have been the best material for the Li-Yu. In addition, Li-Yu considered it important to bring materials from everyday life, and male homosexuality was a good material that met this standard. Nevertheless, the mainstream at the time was heterosexuality, and homosexuality was a non-mainstream sexual orientation. For this reason, it seems that this material, which does not conform to the orthodox ethics, was transformed and described according to the social situation at the time. In Wushengxi, the virtue desired by women in Confucianism was given to passive people among male homosexuality to resolve this gap. And in Shierlou tried to narrow the gap by giving passive characters the virtue of loyalty. As a result, the power source of the Li-Yu’s male homosexuality story is to use relatively Confucian moral notions to resolve the contradictory situations that can arise in male homosexuality, simultaneously breaking the fixed role of male homosexuality, and strengthening the persuasive power of the story.