<숙녀지기>에 나타난 여성 지기(知己) 형상화의 의미

• 영문명: A Study on the Meaning of Representation of a Close Friendship between Women in Sukyeojigi
• 발행기관: 한국고전여성문학회
• 저자명: 조혜란(Cho Hae ran)
• 간행물 정보: 『한국고전여성문학연구』제24권, 291~322쪽, 전체 31쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2012.06.30

국문 초록

<숙녀지기>는 작가나 창작 연대 미상의 작품이지만 총 6종의 이본이 존재하며 필사기나 출판기를 보면 20세기 초에 활발하게 유통이 된 작품이었을 것으로 보인다. 기존 연구사를 보면 지기(知己)에 대한 상층 여성들의 욕망을 그린 이 작품을 여성들의 윤리나 주체성 강조의 문제로 보는 것에는 어느 정도의 합의에 이른 것으로 보인다. 그러나 마지막에 두 여성이 한 남편과 혼인하는 일부다처제에 대한 해석에서는 입장 차이가 나타난다. 본고는 이 부분의 해석을 위해 <숙녀지기>의 중요한 두 모티프인 매신(賣身) 모티프와 일부다처제 혼인 모티프의 제재적 배경을 찾아 <숙녀지기>와 비교하면서 그 내용을 고찰하였다. 검토 결과 <숙녀지기>의 혼인 모티프는 19세기 조선 여성들의 '지기'에 대한 욕망과 밀접하게 관련되는 것으로 드러났고 이 같은 혼인 양상에서 남편인 남성은 거의 수동적 존재로서 그 여성들의 지기 관계의 회복이나 지속을 위해 등장하는 것으로 보인다. 또한 본고는 <숙녀지기>의 활발한 유통 시기와 이 시기 조선 상층 여성의 실제적 연대의 예를 찾아 비교함으로써 당대적 맥락에서 이 작품이 갖는 의미에 대해 고찰하였다.

영문 초록

Of Sukyeojigi(淑女知己), there is no record of its author and the year of its publication. Only six different manuscripts of it exist. Considering the mentions of copiers on their manuscripts and the records of publishing which are found in the copies of old type print, Sukyeojigi is thought to be largely circulated in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. What is notable of this work is the existence of two female protagonists who belong to high class and desire a very close friendship between women. Two female characters of this work are represented to want the kind of friendship which is deeply involved not just as a woman but as a human being. In the Eastern classics, this kind of friendship is called jigi(知己). Jigi refers to the one who knows well his friend and is willing to sacrifice his own life for his friend. In those periods, this kind of deep friendship exclusively referred to men's relationship. But in this work, two female protagonists wish to keep the close friendship even after their marriage. The previous studies of Sukyeojigi seem to agree that this work focuses on the female ethics and female subjectivity. But for the interpretation of the last part of this work where two women have a marital relationship with the same man and lived together in happiness, there are different opinions. While some think that this ending reveals the conformity to polygamic customs under Confucian patriarchy, others think that this marriage results from two women's desires. To give a way to interpret this last part, this study focused on two motifs in this story. One is the motif of selling one's body. In this story, a daughter decides to sell herself and to become a servant in order to pay the funeral fee for her father's death. The other motif is two female friends' marriage with the same person. In this motif, it is important to know whether these two women decide to marry with the same man by following their own desires, or it just reflects and satisfies men's fantasies. To fully understand the meaning of these motifs, this study investigated other stories which include similar motifs and came to confirm that these motifs were largely found in other works as well. Through this comparative investigation, I could see that the marriage motif of Sukyeojigi reflects the women's desire for a close friendship in Chosun dynasty in the nineteenth century. In the polygamic marriage life of this work, the husband is represented as a passive person and serves for his two wives to keep and restore the close friendship between them. Considering the historical context of the circulation of this work and the bond of noble women in their ordinary life, this study tried to give more comprehensive interpretation of the meaning of the representation of a close relationship between women in this work.

목차

국문초록

Ⅰ. 서론

2. <숙녀지기> 창작의 제재적 배경

3. <숙녀지기>의 일부다처제 혼인과 관련한 남녀 인물들의 태도 비교

4. <숙녀지기>의 서사적 특징 : 성별화의 경계 허물기

5. 결론: <숙녀지기>에 나타난 여성 지기의 의미

참고문헌

Abstract

키워드

지기 숙녀지기 매신 여성 연대 Sukyeojigi a close friendship selling one's body bond of women the polygamic marriage life