A Study Of The Female Images In Contemporary North Korean Literature

The Pulmyorae Ryoksa series not only recorded and eulogized the revolutionary deeds of the leaders,but also depicted a large group of figures who fought for national independence of Northern Korean people and national emancipation.Throughout human society,the discourse about women is up to male standard.Taking the author--4.15 literature creation group – of the series into consideration,we can also find out the requirement and norm of male writers imposed on females when they create female images.According to the texts,we can reveal the complicated relation between the characteristics of female image and the ideology of women when they participated in the revolution,and at the same time,we can see that the female image not only serve as an example of “perfect” women,but become the tool of male writers’ social criticism and the target of desire projection.On the basis of Kim Jong Il’s literary theory of subject literature,this article draws on Arnold van Gennep’s Les Rites de Passage,Michel Foucault’s theory of power discourse and other related feminist theories.By reading and understanding the text,the discusion is divided into four parts.The first part classifies the female images in the series and summarizes their characteristics.According to the educational level,occupation,ideology and nationality of women,the female characters are classified into four categories and three characteristics of the female characters can be concluded.In the second part,the female’s love formula is the focus of analysis,and it is pointed out that,despite the influence of Northern Korean people’s independence and emancipation,romantic yearning still exists in the love discourse in North Korea,reflected through classical plots,such as hero rescuing a beauty,the reunion after long separation and so on.The series guides love,a kind of private emotional experience,to the level of national grand narrative through female’s love formula,in which the revolution determines love.At the same time,women’s active pursuit of men,as an important characteristic of Korean women’s love,reflects the duality and difference of Korean standards for men and women: men as “complete” characters do not indulge in love,but the female’s “Incompleteness” makes her instinctively approach to the outstanding male.The third part is the research of discipline on females in the text.Seizing the opportunity of female discipline,this article reveals that the discipline on females is the result of the collusion of patriarchal society and politics.On one hand,in contrast to male figures’ political firmness and their dedication to the revolution regardless of their personal interests,women,even with a firm will to follow the leader and the country,vacillate between personal and national interests.There are even women,who do not conform to the national ideology of things out of the pursuit of comfort and luxurious life.On the other hand,even if there are women who fight for their country and people as what Northern Korean men do,the women do so just out of their respect and admiration for the male leaders.The series depicts women’s ambivalence and inner conflict,while emphasizes the firmness and advancement of men,which is supported by strong patriarchal and national ideology.The fourth part explains the male author’s expressed desire which is not consistent with the ideology through the description of the female body.In the works of the 1990 s,carnal,lascivious images serve as a dividing line between good and bad female positions.The positive characters are always simple and kind,while the negative ones are promiscuous.At the beginning of the new century,not only the negative characters,but the positive characters in the description of the body also appeared a strong sexual implication,and the description of western women’s body is even more so.It can not be denied that western women,as opposed to communist alignment,inevitably appear in the carnal description that serve as-proof of the degeneration of their lives and thoughts,but we can-not ignore the role of the projection of the male writer’s desire.The Pulmyorae Ryoksa series,is an important text to explore the North Korean society and understand the local conditions and humanities.However,up to now,the study of the series is limited to the analysis of the ideology of the literature of revolutionary leaders.Therefore,through female as the entry point,this article intends to provide a new perspective for the study of the series.