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The Evil Woman and Urban Space Represented in Colonial Detective Stories

Yu Inhyeok 1

1동국대학교 한국문학연구소

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ABSTRACT

This study investigates the features of the ‘evil woman’ in the colonial era’s detective narratives within the perspective of urban space. Particularly, the modern visibility and mobility of the female villain is observed. Through this, there was an attempt to present the figures that overcome the stereotypical gender differences represented in modern literature. There are various female criminals in modern literature. They are usually described as having ‘barbarous passion’ or filled with uncontrollable desires. This symbolization reinforces the need to control or expel femininity. However, in the colonial detective stories, the female criminal simultaneously appeared as a combination of the object of control and the subject of surveillance. Jung Maria, the female villain in Love and Sin, is a woman who seduces men by using her sexuality. Yet she also shows a rational subjectivity that explores the complex environment of urban space, finds clues, and solves the riddle. Seo Kwang Ok in The Beautiful Demon is also a woman who frees her sexuality. However she is not abstracted as object of ‘male gaze’, but became the subject of ‘power of vision’. Finally, Ju Eun Mong in The Demon set herself as an object of surveillance, but actually manipulates and takes advantage of the male characters. It can be seen as an overthrowing of typical gender roles. Through this, women are expressed as subjects that utilize modern qualities and urban resources.

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* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

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