Bitterness of the Inner Quarters

Name: Bitterness of the Inner Quarters
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Na Hye-seok

2014年11月 · 20th Century Korean Literature 第 33 冊 · Literature Translation Institute of Korea

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. In Gyuwon, or “Bitterness of the Inner Quarters,” Na takes on the tragedy of being a young widow in a society that enforced both female chastity and absolute dependence on male family members. The story is framed as a cautionary tale: an older woman speaks to a group of women gathered at the home of a young mother and warns them of the tragedy that could befall any of them at any time. She tells of how she was widowed and left at the mercy of her in-laws, framed for adultery due to the meddling of a neighbor, and victimized by a mysterious stranger who was able to pursue her with impunity due to his gender and wealth. Despite her own wealthy background and unfailing adherence to the moral standards required of her by the patriarchal social structure, she finds herself stripped of both social status and personal rights due to the selfish motives of others, and utterly without recourse or protection from any quarter.

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Na Hye-seok (1896 – 1948) was a poet, feminist writer, painter, educator, and journalist. Born in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, as the fourth child of a wealthy family, she demonstrated an artistic talent from an early age and graduated at the top of her class from Jin Myeong Girl's High School in 1913. She went on to study western painting at Tokyo Women's Art College in Japan, which was an unheard of accomplishment for a Korean woman at the time. She became the first female professional painter and the first feminist writer in Korea, and later made waves for a rumored extramarital affair and her subsequent divorce. Her major written work, “Gyeong-hui” (1918), explores the theme of sinyeoseong, or “new woman,” and is regarded as the first feminist short story in Korean literature. She is also well known for her essay, “A Divorce Confession,” which was published in a magazine in 1934.