The purpose of this thesis is to explore the background that suicide motif appeared in Korean classical literature and define the significance in literature by analyzing the aspects.
Suicide motif appearing in Korean classical literature was firstly s...
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the background that suicide motif appeared in Korean classical literature and define the significance in literature by analyzing the aspects.
Suicide motif appearing in Korean classical literature was firstly seen in tales and embraced in a long descriptive tradition. Since suicide happens under a variety of social and cultural backgrounds, it needs observation in multilateral points of view. Therefore, after examining the background that suicide motif appeared in Korean classical literature, this study analyzed the aspects in which Korean classical literatures were expressed.
Suicide motif was influenced by the belief in eternity and the environmental changes caused by war. The Imjin war and Second Manchu invasion of Korea made drifting people suffer and they tried to escape from the present suffering through death, believing in the existence of eternity. Under the circumstances, the ruling class attempted to bond people in dominant rules, emphasizing Sung Confucianism. Accordingly, many people committed suicide for the country or for faithfulness.
With regard to the aspects of suicide motif seen in such backgrounds, the results are as follows. Firstly, Egoistic suicide represents a death that happens during the process of achieving individual desires. For instance, in <Unyoungjeon>, although Woon Young wanted to love Kim Jin Sa under a social status system, she decided to commit suicide after her desire was frustrated. Secondly, as anomic suicide is a death that happens in social chaos such as war, in <Choechuckjeon>, Choi Chuk and Ok Young committed suicide in chaos and suffering caused by the separation of family. Lastly, altruistic suicide reflects a death caused by the internalization of national ideology. In <Sookyoungnangjajeon>, the death of Miss Suk Young is considered as altruistic suicide because it is the result of the internalization of faithfulness.
Suicide motif has been expressed in a variety of ways by connecting with other motif. Egoistic suicide is used to format individual desires frustrated by a patriarchal system by connecting with disable motif and anomic suicide more emphasizes chaos situations due to the separation of families by connecting with a tale of war. And altruistic suicide appears by combining with women's tale of suffering such as a virtuous woman motif, the conflict of an adopted son and the conflict between one´s wife and concubine. Such aspects of suicide reflect social and individual conflicts and frustration, continuing to new-style novels, and, on the other hand, the aspects are used as a device of representation to deliver tragic situations.
This thesis analyzed the background and aspects that suicide motif appeared in Korean classical literatures, noticing lots of suicide motif in Korean classical literatures. Although previous studies on suicide motif focused on the death consciousness or the perspective on life and death, this thesis attempted to explore the significance in literature, examining the aspects of suicide motif.