Changes in the qualities of the male protagonist and Its narrative meaning in Love Romance(愛情傳奇小說)

Abstract

This paper focuses on two representative works of nineteenth-century Love Romance(愛情傳奇小說), 〈Jeolhwagidam〉 and 〈Pouigyojib〉, to examine the changes in the male protagonists’ qualities and their narrative significance. In these works, the qualities of ‘literary talent’ and ‘unmarriedness’ that were common to the male protagonists of previous biographical novels are not found. This completely dismantles the meanings of ‘seriousness of character’ and ‘authenticity of marriage’ that these qualities implied respectively. Furthermore, this change in qualities changes the context in which men and women perceive each other as objects of affection, resulting in a new relationship pattern of love. While the male protagonist sees the object of his love as an object of deviant entertainment, the female protagonist sees it as a way to escape from the violence she has been subjected to, and sees the other as an object of serious encounter. In this way, the 19th century works repeat the phenomenon of ‘inconsistency’ on various levels, including the object and method of love. Meanwhile, the female protagonist has a previously unexplored option of separation through this discrepancy. This is very interesting because it gives us a glimpse into women’s self-consciousness.