The Modes of Existence for the Housewife's Authority in Joseon Dynasty

조선시대 부권(婦權)의 존재 양상 연구

This paper was triggered by the idea that the culture of ancestral rites and the patrilocality, which entail the excessive sacrifice on the part of the wife, that eventually led to the coinage of the expression, "housewives' holiday stress," is perhaps not the age-old traditions it claim to be, but rather a recent phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to reveal that the loss of housewife's authority is the product of "becoming yangban (aristocrats)," which was a culture that was in fashion in the late Joseon dynasty. Until the late Joseon dynasty, women, in particular, the married women maintained an autonomous life which allowed them the authority to an extent, based on their properties that they brought from and the ties that they maintained with their original family and. However, such authority of the housewives disappeared since the invasion of Joseon by Japan and Qing in the year of Imjin (1592) and Byeongja (1636), respectively, as the daughters were excluded from receiving inheritance in a desperate attempt to maintain the impoverished family after the wars. However, patriarchy based on neo-Confucian custom and convention of patriarchal clan system could not spread to the entire population immediately after the wars, as it was impossible to include everyone in the aristocratic class (yangban). It was due to the increase of aristocrats within the continued social changes that occurred after the wars that the neo-Confucian patriarchy became the norm and ethical standard in Joseon society. Also, the theory of propriety in neo-Confucianism that everyone from the emperor down to commoners must abide by the patriarchal clan system was realized through Zhuzi jiali, i.e. Master Zhu's Family Rituals, which institutionalized the system of family rites by setting up ancestral shrines in every household. For the aristocrats who lost their financial footing, the only basis they could rely on to prove their aristocratic lineage is the strict compliance with the rituals. Also, for the once commoners who turned into aristocrats one day had to emphasize the formal propriety in order to distinguish themselves from the commoners. Hence, the culture of "becoming yangban" in the nineteenth-century Joseon was what solidified the patriarchal rituals, decorum, and clan system. As a result, women have become subordinated to the husband's families, which forced the women, i.e. the housewives to serve them and sacrifice themselves for them. At times, women self-imposed such restraints on them as they led themselves into believing that it was necessary to maintain the family for their sons.

'주부의 명절증후군'이라는 신조어까지 만들어낸 제사 문화와 시집살이 문화는 어쩌면 오랜 전통이 아닌 최근의 문화일 것이라는 생각에서 출발한 본 연구는 조선시대 부권(婦權)의 상실이 조선 후기 성행한 '양반-되기' 문화 때문이라는 것을 밝히는 데 목적이 있다. 조선 중기까지 여성 특히 가정 내 부인은 친정에서 가지고 온 재산과 친정과의 유대를 통해 나름의 권위를 가지고 주체적 삶을 살았다. 하지만 이러한 부권(婦權)은 임병양란 이후 영세해진 가문을 지키기 위해 딸을 상속에서 배제하면서 사라졌다. 그렇지만 전 인구의 양반화가 불가능했기 때문에 양란을 기점으로 종법제에 입각한 성리학적 가부장제가 전 인구로 확산될 수는 없었다. 성리학적 가부장제가 전 인구의 보편적 윤리가 된 것은 양란 이후 지속적 사회 변화 속에서 양반의 수가 급증하였기 때문이다. 게다가 천자부터 평민까지 모든 사람이 종법제를 지켜야 한다는 정주학의 예론은 모든 집안에 '사당'을 두어 조상의 제사를 모시라고 하는 "주자가례"를 통해 실현되었다. 경제력을 상실한 양반이 자신을 양반으로 내세울 수 있는 유일한 근거는 오직 준엄한 의례밖에 없었으며, 양인에서 양반이 된 사람들 또한 양인과의 구별을 위해 '형식적 예'만을 강조할 수밖에 없었다. 이렇게 19세기 조선의 '양반-되기' 문화는 성리학적 가부장제에 의한 예법을 공고히 했다. 이 결과 여성은 오로지 시집을 위해 종사하는 존재가 되었으며 이렇게 하는 것이 남편과 아들의 가문을 지키는 일이라 생각해 스스로를 옥죄기도 했다.