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A Study on the Way Villain Characters' Improper Conducts are Narrated and Its Connection to Popular Tastes in Hyunmongssangryonggi

  • The Research of the Korean Classic
  • 2011, (23), pp.359-398
  • Publisher : The Research Of The Korean Classic
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature > Korean Literature > Korean classic prose

Hae Ran Cho 1

1경희대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study attempted to examine how the evil thoughts and conducts in villain characters in Hyunmongssangryonggi (現夢雙龍記) reflect the writer's consciousness of his times. This work is remarkable in pres- enting lots of wicked practices by villain characters in a very shocking and sensational way. The most notable improper act in this work is crimes against the fundamental ethical codes in a fatherson relationship. In this work we can find the kind of son who tried to kill his own father either by himself or by an assassin whom he himself had employed. We can find also the kind of father who assures his own son as an assassin who tried to take away his own life. Besides, there is another father who petitioned to the king to allow his attempts to remove his son's name from the family register and to replace it with his grandson's name for the sake of his family's prosperity because he had thought his son was very improper. These kinds of practices between fathers and sons are rarely seen in the narrative conventions in classic novels and in the everyday life of a real world. But within the palace in Chosun dynasty, similar things happened. It was the dethroning of Queen Inmok by King Kwanhye, and the murder of the prince in a cruel way and the replacement of its place with his grandson by King Youngjo. In this sense, this work reminds us of this historical event. Given this contextual understanding, the evil practices of this work is worth analysing. For the analysis of how the evil acts are narrated in this work will show whether this work show the deep consciousness of the problems of his contemporary or it just tries to reflect the popular tastes. Generally the previous studies on the family saga of classic novels have been accumulated to some degrees, and Hyunmongssangryonggi also has been studied to help to understand its fundamental characteristics and contexts. Based on these previous studies, I think, it is time to try to evaluate the quality of an individual work. With this kind of consci- ousness, I analysed the villain characters' improper conducts of this work and came to conclude that this work is short of serious awareness to see the problems of his times and rather it tries to meet the popular taste like a well-made-play.

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