초기 장편고전소설에서 가문·왕실의 관계양상과 그 의미

Abstract

This paper is about the study that examines the relational aspect between a family and the royal family in the early long-length Korean classical novel, which is <Sohyunsungrok>. This novel is written in the mid to late 17th century. It is about establishment, prosperity, and succession of the Sohs. The stature of the Sohs was positioned as a family of integrity and tried to practice filial piety as the most important virtue, but had a sense of loyalty that saves the nation in a great crisis at the same time. Besides, they were cooperative to the king but when there was a fault, they followed a custom by speaking plainly. These orientation and stature of the family appear intensively in narrations about a princess married to this family and a queen from this family. By a trial of strength between the princess and a king’s son-in-law, the justification of the family’s lifestyle and values was imposed and by a daughter being a queen, the morality and qualifications of the family were verified. The dynamics between the family and the royal family were handled comprehensively by widely examining the main characters’ political views, debates about setting of relation and duty between sovereign and subject, contents about a conflicting relation between loyalty and filial piety and about participation in war and a marriage becoming a queen, as well as a princess's marriage. Through this, the novel informs about values and views of life of writers and readers of the time.