@article{ART003342560},
author={전기화},
title={A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi},
journal={The Research of the Korean Classic},
issn={1226-3850},
year={2026},
number={73},
pages={185-212}
TY - JOUR
AU - 전기화
TI - A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi
JO - The Research of the Korean Classic
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 73
PB - The Research Of The Korean Classic
SP - 185
EP - 212
SN - 1226-3850
AB - This study argues that, with regard to the motif of cross-dressing in classical novels, it is necessary to focus on the relationships between female characters in male disguise and other female characters.
Accordingly, it examines how these relationships are portrayed in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi, exploring their narrative significance and effects, with particular attention to how this portrayal is received by female readers.
Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi emphasizes that the female character’s cross-dressing and other non-conformist behaviors were not driven by her own volition but compelled by circumstance. This emphasis functions as a narrative strategy that not only shields the character from potential ethical censure but also accords with the moral and aesthetic sensibilities of upper-class women, the primary readership of Korean lineage novels.
While the risk of moral censure against the female protagonist is minimized, Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi foregrounds the agency of the female characters surrounding her. This aligns with a distinctive feature of the novel: numerous female characters appear in male disguise, their relationships unfold across multiple dimensions, and their bonds with one another are emphasized. In this context, the novel employs playful episodes that arise among these characters around the secret of cross-dressing to lighten the ethical weight attached to female cross-dressing itself.
In particular, in the episode involving the bhikkhunis, the novel portrays erotic sensibilities that cannot be accommodated within the institution of heterosexual marriage, yet it closes the episode without disclosing that these events arise from a series of misunderstandings.
This leaves readers’ modes of reception open to multiple interpretations, and it is precisely this openness to diverse and fractured reception, irreducible to a single normative meaning, that makes this episode interesting
KW - cross-dressing in classical novels;Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi;playful appropriation;female readership;desire;relations between women
DO -
UR -
ER -
전기화. (2026). A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi. The Research of the Korean Classic, 73, 185-212.
전기화. 2026, "A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi", The Research of the Korean Classic, no.73, pp.185-212.
전기화 "A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi" The Research of the Korean Classic 73 pp.185-212 (2026) : 185.
전기화. A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi. 2026; 73 : 185-212.
전기화. "A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi" The Research of the Korean Classic no.73(2026) : 185-212.
전기화. A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi. The Research of the Korean Classic, 73, 185-212.
전기화. A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi. The Research of the Korean Classic. 2026; 73 185-212.
전기화. A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi. 2026; 73 : 185-212.
전기화. "A Study on the Relationships Between Women Disguised as Men and Other Women in Seonghyeongongsukryeolgi" The Research of the Korean Classic no.73(2026) : 185-212.
