A Study Of The Female Image In Chinese Family Novels Of The Joseon Dynasty

Guunmong,Okrumong,Ongninmong and Sa-ssi-nam-jeong-gi represent the maturity and perfection of the classical Korean novel and have had a great influence on the creation of later Chinese novels,and are of high research and academic value.This article will take these four novels as the object of study,using the principle of close textual reading and combining feminist literary criticism and methods in the process of specific textual analysis.In the course of the textual analysis,it will combine feminist literary criticism and methodology,consider the female characters in the novels as a whole,explore the characteristics of the characters from a holistic perspective,and analyse the roles played by women in different family roles,the situations they face,the authors’ attitudes towards different women and the male authors’ conceptions of women.The main part of the text is divided into five chapters,with the exception of the introduction.The first chapter focuses on the analysis of motherhood in the novel.The first chapter analyses the mothers in the novel,dividing them into two categories:kind mother and bad mother,and analysing the specific characteristics of the different types of mothers,arguing that the kind mothers are good at supervising their children,loving them and being kind.The bad mothers,are those who overstep the bounds of propriety and even trample on the lives of others.By comparing the two types of mothers and examining them in the context of the Joseon dynasty,it is clear that through the portrayal of the mother,the male author expresses his desire to be in charge of the household and to realise his freedom of choice.The second chapter focuses on the image of the wife in the novel.The wives in the novel are divided into two categories:’wise wives’ and ’wicked wives’,and the analysis reveals that the wise wives strictly follow feudal rituals,and their core characteristics are loyalty,chastity and non-jealousness.The wicked wives,on the other hand,are characterised by jealousy,which leads to poisonous acts.By comparing the two types of wives with the requirements of the Joseon dynasty in relation to maternal morality,it is clear that the portrayal of the wives contains a male author’ s demand for male authority in marriage.In addition,it also reflects the author’ s political aspirations as a scholar.The third chapter focuses on the portrayal of concubines in the novel.The concubines in the novel are divided into two categories,’ good concubines’ and ’evil concubines’,according to their character.The good concubines are multi-talented and multi-skilled,with a strong sense of chastity and the courage to pursue their own personal happiness.The wicked concubines,on the other hand,are clever in their words,debauched and vicious.By comparing the two types of concubines with the historical situation of prostitutes in the Joseon dynasty,it is found that the portrayal of concubines contains the emotions of male authors in their personal lives,i.e.lust and emotional aspirations.At the same time,the issue of chastity is placed in a prominent position through the portrayal of the concubine.The fourth chapter begins with a systematic summary of the first three chapters,concluding that the male author’s view of women in the novel is divided into three main areas:women are to be in a submissive position,women are to be treasured for their chastity,and women’s responsibility is to reproduce.Finally,with the help of feminist literary criticism,we analyse the situation of women in these novels,which are all in a situation of ’absolute otherness’,deceptive and false,giving women false promises,which reflect an aim to make women settle,indulge and cling to the male The purpose of these novels is to keep women settled,indulged,obsessed with the passive situation of being under the sway of men and dependent on them.This paper places the many female figures in the novel together,specifically using a close reading of the text to analyse the character of the women according to their different roles in the family,and to view the male author’s psychology in a horizontal and vertical comparison.It also draws on feminist literary criticism to examine specifically the author’s conception of women as men and to reveal the male deceptions present in the novel.