신태영의 이혼

• 영문명: Shin Tae Young's Divorce Case
• 발행기관: 한국고전여성문학회
• 저자명: 강명관(Kang Myung kwan)
• 간행물 정보: 『한국고전여성문학연구』제29권, 163~188쪽, 전체 26쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2014.12.30

국문 초록

조선이 남긴 문헌 자료를 읽으면 여성 주체의 소멸은 외견상 사실로 보인다. 하지만 신태영의 경우, 여성의 주체가 결코 사라지지 않았음을, 그리고 남성의 가부장적 권력 집행에 저항하고 있었음을 확인할 수 있다. 남성-사족의 가부장제가 공고해지면질수록 여성은 소수자로서의 주체를 상실하지 않고 전략적으로 대응하였다. 시부모에 대한 불효를 죄목으로 삼자, 신태영은 전처의 자식 유언명(兪彦明)이 자신에게 불효했음을 주장했다. 여성은 아내와 며느리의 관계에서는 하위자이지만, 아들과 며느리에게는 부모로서 상위자였다. 여성은 스스로 가부장화(家父長化) 하여 아들에게 권력을 행사할 수 있었던 것이다. 신태영은 남편 유정기가 비첩(婢妾, 노비로서 첩이 된 여자) 예일(禮一)을 통해 성적 욕망을 확장하자, 유정기의 이상적(異常的)인 성적(性的) 취향을 공개하는 것으로 대응했다. 남성의 축첩으로 인한 이른바 '투기'를 남성-사족은 비윤리적인 행위로 규정했지만, 그것은 의도처럼 쉽게 먹혀들지 않았다. 그로 인한 불화는 남성-사족에게 결코 유리하지 않았다. 불화로 정처와 법적으로 이혼하는 것은 신태영의 사건에서처럼 현실적으로 불가능하였다. 임방의 주장처럼 남성-사족의 일방적 요청으로 이혼이 간단히 허락된다면, 그것은 남성-사족의 성적 욕망을 무한히 개방함으로써 궁극적으로 가부장제가 붕괴될 수 있었던 것이다. 따라서 신태영처럼 여성이 적극 저항할 경우 그 저항을 봉쇄할 수 없었던 것이다. 아울러 성적 문제로 인한 불화는 본인과 가문의 명성에 치명적인 손상을 끼칠 수 있었다. 17세기 중반 이후 부처제(夫處制)가 성립하자 남성의 통제하에 들어가게 되었고, 가부장제 내에서 소수자가 되었지만, 여전히 주체를 잃지 않았다. 가부장제에 적응하는 한편 반발했던 것이다. 소수자로서의 여성은 가부장제의 '목에 박힌 가시'가 되어 가부장제의 심부(深部)에서 한없는 고통을 야기하는 가시가 되었다. 그것은 가부장제의 비극이자 모순이었다.

영문 초록

Behind the principles of the Confucianism-based patriarchical system was men's sexual desires. The Sung-Confucianism solemnly ordered self-continence. But it was just the matter of personal discipline and practice. Institutionally, men were allowed to fulfill their sexual desires. In contrast, women were thoroughly prohibited from meeting such desires. Men of the noble class created 'sex ethics' that forced women to be sexually subordinate to only one man. They also invented the logic of 'yeolnyeo' or faithful woman that women should be willing to die for men or do corresponding acts. To confine women within the patriarchical system, futhermore, they established the patri-local marriage system that obliged married women to live in her husband's house and the inequal inheritance system that allowed men, especially the oldest son, to have the right of inheritance even more than women. All of these were ultimately the moves to keep women from thinking and behaving subjectively. Judged based on publications of the Joseon period, at least superficially, it was fact that women of that time lost their own subjectivity. But as suggested by Shin Tae-young's case, all women of the Joseon period lost their own subjectivity, but instead, some of them resisted men's patriarchical powers. The stronger the patriarchical system became, the more women kept their own subjectivity and coped strategically with that system. When blamed by her husband for her lack of filial piety to his parents, Shin Tae-young claimed that she was ill treated by Yoo Eon-myeong, the son born from her husband's ex-wife. According to Shin Tae-young, a woman was inferior when a wife or daughter in law, but superior when a parent or mother-in-law. This indicate that women of at that time could control their son by taking advantage of the patriarchical system. When her husband, Yoo Jeong-ki sought to more satisfy his sexual desires with Ye Il, so-called 'bicheop' meaning a female slave who became a concubine, Shin Tae-young coped with it by making open to the public his abnormal sexual orientation. At that time, it was usual that men of the noble class defined women's jealousy over their husband's concubinage was unethical. But this definition was not always easily accepted. Actually, disputes between noble men and women over concubinage were not necessarily advantageous to the former. Such disputes were not recognized as a rationale based on which men could formally disputer his legal wife. If divorce had been easily approved only by requests from men of the noble class, Lim Bang suggested, it could have limitlessly opened noble men's ways to meet their sexual desires and ultimately collapsed the patriarchical system. At that time, therefore, women like Shin Tae-young who strongly resisted against her husband's concubinage were impossible to be blocked. Especially, men who disputed with his wife over problems with his pursuit for sexual desires might undergo lethal damages to the reputation of themselves and their clan. The Yoo clan had been grown to a powerful clan in Seoul, dubbed as 'Gyeongwha Sejok' since the 18th century and maintained its influences and reputation till the early 20th century. But the Yoo Jeong-ki family, belonging to that clan, couldn't avoid being collapsed. However, women had been under her husband's control since the mid 17th century when the patri-local marriage system were established. Thus, women became a minority group under the patriarchical system. But they didn't give up their own subjectivity. They adapted themselves to that system on one hand and resisted to it on the other hand. As the patriarchical system is concerned, women were like 'a thorn in its flesh'. In the system, the minority group was deeply positioned as the very source of pain. Thus, women were the tragic and contradictory part of the patriarchical system.

목차

<국문초록>

1. 머리말

2. 유정기의 이혼 신청과 신태영의 문제

3. 신태영의 저항과 전략

4. 가부장제의 고민

5. 맺음, 여성-소수자란 주체

참고문헌

Abstract

키워드

열녀 신태영 이혼 가부장제 yeolnyeo or faithful woman Shin Tae-young divorce the patriarchical system