In this paper, I have studied the novel「Hwa-Kwan」with respects to types of characters, dialect of reality and ideal, internal consciousness of the writer, composition and organization, and limit of popularity, in order to view the literary meaning...
In this paper, I have studied the novel「Hwa-Kwan」with respects to types of characters, dialect of reality and ideal, internal consciousness of the writer, composition and organization, and limit of popularity, in order to view the literary meaning of Lee Tae-Jun's novel, and to recognize its significance in the 1930s.
The types of characters are classified into three types: individualistic characters, characters inclined to society, and converted characters between individual and society. In「Hwa-Kwan」, the third type of characters emphasizes the 'life of characters inclined to society', in the process that 'social characters' change into 'individualistic characters' in the contrast of the former and the latter.
Characters inclined to society consider ideal reality as the index of their life, which is never appreciated as an ideal ignoring reality. Especially, the writer exposes closely female college students' recognition of reality, and also he tries to synthesize ideal and actuality. Their ideal is the social inclination expressed as 'sacrifcial life as a teacher' in Won-San, and as the publishing business. This social inclination is explained as the spokesman for the weak, Korean mission in the colonized period, and the responsibility for social inclination. Also, it is linked with the writer's own social consciousness.
In the novel, the writer's internal consciousness appears in the views of education, marriage and female. The view of education emphasizes the education for mothers more than the education for females. The views of marriage and love emphasize the synthesis of reality and ideal.
The style is simple, descriptive and psychological. The method of composition, i·e, guotation of letters, makes the outliness and the implication of contents and affairs-development be easy. Moreover, this composition-method accentuates or settles the conflict and tensions of charcters.
Lee Tae-Jun's novel involves the limit of popularity which makes the internal structure of work be abscure by vague love-affairs. However, this limit is the problem which the 1930s' writers confront rather than his own problem, on considering that popular novels are based on the theory of popular literature and the theory of novels, and that serial novels of newpapers are severely llimited.
In「Hwa-Kwon」. Lee Tae-Jun uses his own style and composition-method with respect to form, and expresses social consciousness by 'characters inclined to society' with respect to content. Therefore, in the 1930s, Lee Tae-Jun's novels are works realizing his own view that a novel is the synthesis of content and form.