19세기 소설에 등장하는 하층여성의 일탈과 그 의미- <절화기담>과 <포의교집>을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Women in the Joseon period wanted to demonstrate chastity by restraining and damaging their bodies, and even sacrificing their lives. Yet, 19th-century novels are noteworthy for featuring women who seem to have avoided the craze over “becoming chaste women.” These women include Sunmae in <Jeolhwagidam>, Cho-ok in <Poeuigyojip>, and Hyangrang in <Samhanseupyoo>. They are lower-class married women who risk being deviants by falling in love with men other than their husbands in order to satisfy their desires. Their deviation is problematic because it represents the desire for free love, which was a taboo for women at the time, as well as the desire for relationships with the lower class, which was only tolerated for men. Furthermore, their behaviors, accompanied by the failure to maintain fidelity were even more problematic in the sense that they were completely in contrast to the concept of chastity. Sunmae maintains fidelity and serves a single husband until she meets Yi-saeng, but when she meets and falls in love with him, she becomes unchaste. For her, chastity does not take priority over love. Cho-ok sacrifices her fidelity and even her life for her illicit lover Yi-saeng, and considers her behavior righteous. As such, the chastity of Sunmae and Cho-ok is understood in a new sense that is different from the conventional idea of chastity. The changing perception of chastity raises issues about the male-dominated order that required chastity and tried to reform women; it thus animates the transition to modernity by causing a severe rupture in Joseon society.