Lovesickness” in Late Chos Ǒn Literature

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Reinterpreting “Lovesickness” in Late Chos ǒn Literature A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Janet Yoon-sun Lee 2014 © Copyright by Janet Yoon-sun Lee 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Reinterpreting “Lovesickness” in Late Chos ǒn Literature By Janet Yoon-sun Lee Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Peter H. Lee, Chair My dissertation concerns the development of the literary motif of “lovesickness” (sangsa py ǒng ) in late Chos ǒn narratives. More specifically, it examines the correlation between the expression of feelings and the corporeal symptoms of lovesickness as represented in Chos ǒn romance narratives and medical texts, respectively, of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As the convergence of literary and medical discourse, lovesickness serves as a site to define both the psychological and physical experiences of love, implying the correlation between mind and body in the non-Western tradition. The analysis itself is re-categorized into the discussions of the feeling and the body. In the discussion of the feeling, it will be argued that the feeling of longing not only occupies an important position in literature, but also is gendered and structured in lyrics and narratives of the seventeenth century. In addressing the rubric of feelings of “longing,” this part seeks the ii theoretical grounds of how the intense experience of longing is converted to language of love and to bodily symptoms to constitute the knowledge of lovesickness. The second part concerns the representation of lovesick characters in Korean romance, particularly concerning the body politics of the Chos ŏn society. So I examine both emotional and physical pains of characters who pursue the romantic goals of love and marriage and illuminate the nature of conflicts, also moved on to the medical sphere beyond the literary imagination. While this study offers readers an introduction to the diversity of conditions included under the banner of lovesickness in the seventeenth century Korea, I argue that this discourse of lovesickness serves as a site for Chos ǒn period readers to conceptualize “romantic love.” Within the confines of a Confucian society that limited relations between men and women, I contend that, rather than perceiving characters involved in romance as mere victims of love within an oppressive culture, these works reveal the complex negotiations between the body and the mind, gender ideals and sexual desire, and romantic love and Confucian ideology. iii The dissertation of Janet Yoon-sun Lee is approved. John B. Duncan Jean-Claude Carron Richard E. Strassberg Peter H. Lee, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1. The Birth of Lovesickness in Romance 25 Chapter 2. The Voice of Longing 53 Chapter 3. Dilemma of a Lovesick Hero 95 Chapter 4. The Death of Lovesick Women 135 Conclusion 174 Bibliography 183 Appendix: English Translation of Chusaeng ch ŏn 200 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This path cannot have been completed without the amazing synchronicities that came together to bring me to this point. Over the course of my study, I have been most fortunate to meet such amazing and dedicated scholars and colleagues. First, my deep gratitude is owed to my teachers at UCLA. Professor Peter H. Lee, whose erudition, diligence, and thoroughness as a scholar made me push myself to the limit and inspired me to pursue research on premodern Korean literature. I would also like to thank Professor John B. Duncan, who has been a constant inspiration during my graduate studies, and Professor Richard E. Strassberg, who has been a wonderful teacher in the field of Chinese literature, and Professor Jean-Claude Carron who introduced me to the sources in French literature that enriched my study. Additionally, I am very grateful to Professor Christopher Hanscom, who kindly offered me his incisive comments and continued to influence me to complete this work. Also, I cannot thank enough Late Professor Jahyun K. Haboush at Columbia University. From her, I learned how to interpret texts in a new light, and she helped broadened my scope of reading literature, in particular, readings related to gender history. My deep gratitude is extended to my professors in Korea. I am grateful to Professor Kwangsoon Kim, my former advisor, who constantly supported and gave me unfailing encouragement ever since I started to study in the United States. I also appreciate Professor Keysook Choe, who shared her deep interest in my project and provided excellent suggestions during my field research. vi I feel so blessed to work with an incredible group of sǒnbaenim s and colleagues whom I have no doubt will become distinguished scholars and experts in their fields. I owe many thanks to Youngju Ryu, Aimee Kwon, Semi Oh, Mickey Hong, Seung-Ah Lee, Jane Choi, Jennifer Jung-Kim, Howard Kahm, Elli Kim, Yeunjee Song, Jungsil Lee, Hanmee Kim, Sinwoo Lee, Youme Kim, Hannah Lim, and Laura Reizman. Also, I am grateful to the generous support of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and the Center for Korean Studies at UCLA and the Korean Foundation and also would like to give thanks to Ms. Sejung Kim for the support of my last quarters. I also would like thank Diana Evans who kindly proofread my chapters to make it more readable. To the last but not the least, I owe many prayers and encouragements to my spiritual families and friends at UCLA and UCSD, who encouraged me to keep going on this path. Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my parents, Dr. Yong-Hyun Lee and Shin-Lae Lim. who encouraged me to become a scholar and have been my role models. As you both truly understood the nature of this work, you supported me without doubt but with boundless love, patience, and courage. Thankfulness is unending. Soli Deo Gloria. vii VITA 2000 B.A. Korean Language and Literature Kyungpook National University 2002 M.A. Premodern Korean Literature Kyungpook National University 2004 M.A. Korean Studies Columbia University 2005–2009 Teaching Assistant University of California, Los Angeles 2007–2009 Korea Foundation Fellowship 2010 The Academy of Korean Studies Fellowship 2013 Associate Instructor University of California, San Diego 2013–2014 Teaching Associate University of California, Los Angeles viii Introduction This dissertation explores romance, love, and lovesickness in seventeenth century Korean narratives, focusing on the representations of “love” and its varied emotional and physiological experiences as real illness or “lovesickness.” In the representations of lovesickness, the experience of love is often accompanied by symptoms of discomfort and illuminates somatic, physical symptoms from the effects of love. Lovesickness engages with detectable symptoms: the palpable, visible, and tangible manifestations of an emotional and physical reality. Lovesickness has been a powerful theme in the Western literary cannon, especially in association with its ideals of courtly culture. Yet it is not exclusively a Western experience. It assumes particular significance within different contexts and factors and functions as a key term that unravels the intersecting emotions of love, desire, and passion. Although this dissertation seeks to describe lovesickness as a universal motif in literature, it also aims to provide an alternative analysis of its representation vis-à-vis specific literary examples taken from seventeenth century Korea. My work addresses sangsa py ŏng ֒ԷѠ (lovesickness) within mid-to late-Chos ŏn period literature. In this dissertation, I locate the language of lovesickness within this literary context and examine the relationship between the feeling of longing prominent in literary tradition and the body embodying a complex array of affectionate feelings. My dissertation is based on my observation that although there is an increasing 1 interest in gender, emotion, and body within Korean area studies, lovesickness has been primarily perceived as a minor, repetitive motif in literature and consequently, has barely been given scholarly attention. However, I intend to draw on the idiosyncratic conception of lovesickness as a rich nexus of those fleeting concepts at the convergence of literary and medical discourses. Simultaneously, this study considers Confucian norms and gender politics as important components in understanding lovesickness in premodern Korea, as my work illuminates the complex web of meanings embedded in the discursive construction of lovesickness. The presence of lovesickness has aroused general and popular recognition, but its expression as discourse raises the complex question of representation. Not only does it tie implicit, internalized feelings to visible physical symptoms, but the representations of lovesickness reveals what is intended, as well as distorted, in the processes of reconstructing in language a narrative that surpasses, even replaces everyday truth. In other words, the representations of lovesick characters are presumed to exalt love as intensely pure and naive, but, paradoxically, it also bears political and polemic implications. Lovesickness allows characters to find a way to empower themselves, not only by resisting social conventions, but also by embracing—to excess—certain official norms and canonical expressions. While addressing the dilemma and conundrums of lovesick

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