Abstract
This study focuses on a feminine verse written by Mrs. Lee Ho of the Jinseong Lee clan that has not yet been studied in the academic world, despite the fact that its specific details were previously revealed through a collection of verses titled ‘Bugae-gasa’. In particular, by synthetically examining ‘Notanga’(semantically the verse of lamentation for aging), which is included in the collection, and its answer verse, ‘Notandabgok’(semantically, an answer song to a lamentation for aging) by Mrs. Choi of the Jeonju Choi clan, this study identified characteristics of the two writings as well as, different aspects and cultural meanings of feminine verses shared within a clan.BR ‘Notanga’, where the rhetoric of self-lamentation for aging is found, has a prominent feature, that she focused on her sick body and portrayed the symptoms and changes in various manners. Mrs. Choi, who read ‘Notanga’, noted that ‘the style is fascinating’. In particular, the lamentation of women in ‘Notanga’ is portrayed very differently compared to other writings dealing with the aging of women in the masculine viewpoint of the late Joseon period. This study found that in ‘Notanga’, an elderly woman focused on her own body and tried to portray the aspects of suffering and change in a realistic manner. It shows the subjective anguish and expressive power in a woman’s viewpoint, not from an external or other person’s viewpoint.BR It seems that Mrs. Choi, who wrote ‘Notandapgok’, also expressed her desire to tell of a repressed life by a feminine verse after she read ‘Notanga’. At that time, she was enduring hard life circumstances as the eldest daughter-in-law of, a head family. When Mrs. Choi read ‘Notanga’ and found psychological support, her foundation for expression grew, and she learned to express the difficulty of ‘a woman’s married life’ through the words in a feminine verse. She revealed her desires and true voice by composing ‘Notandapgok’ with a more active mind. Paradoxically, the real aspect of suffering and lamentation portrayed by Mrs. Choi acted as a mechanism of consolation to Mrs. Lee Ho, who lamented aging.BR In this way, it is necessary to pay attention to the examples of dialogue and communication on a family basis among the ways in which feminine verses were distributed in the Yeongnam area in the late Joseon period. A feminine verse is a communication method based on not only the self-esteem of amember of the prestigious family, but also provides a sense of solidarity withthose around them and their circumstances.
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