전통적' 계모관(繼母觀)의 형성과정과 그 의미 : The Establishment Process and it's Meaning = Traditional' Image of Stepmother

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Korean people have two contradictory ideas on the stepmother nowadays. Stepmothers are Supposed to be a 'harsh bitch', but also to have all the authorities and obligations as the 'mother'. However, this trait of the relationship between the stepmother and the stepchildren has not been the same during the historical progress of Korea. So-called 'traditional' view of the stepmother is very much likely to have been made in late Chosun dynasty.
During Koryo and early Chosun Dynasty, the situation was very different. Matrilocal residence customs and the kinship consciousness concentrating on blood lines brought situation that the former father's children living with the stepfather was more popular than former mother's children living with the stepmother. Also, people didn't think stepmother as the 'Mother'. The stepmother was 'the wife of my father', so that she could be either the 'Mother' or not by personal experience of lift.
In late Chosun dynasty, the condition was changed. Male became the center of the family relationship as Neo-confucian ideology gained power over the society. As a result, the stepmother and the children of the former mother had to live together, accepting each other's status as the mother and the children. Therefore there was an increasing chance of the stepmother's abusing the children of the former mother because of serious discrepancy between actual emotion and obligation established by new ideology. This situation could be widely accepted as natural in the society even. The tragic tale of Janghwa & Hongryeon was written at this moment, reflecting the social situation of that time.
The side-effect of this change became alleviated as Neo-confucianism rooted deeply in Chosun society. Both stepmothers and children of the former mothers started agreeing that they are the members of the actual family. Therefore, those two contradictory idea on stepmother were combined to construct the so-called 'traditional' view of the stepmother in present days.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 머리말
• 1. 고려~조선전기 재혼관행과 계모의 위상
• 1) 혼인 후 거주관행과 친족의식
• 2) 조선전기 전처자녀(前妻子女)와 계모의 갈등
• 2. 조선후기 계모관의 형성과정 - 「장화홍련전」을 중심으로
• 맺음말