„Pamiętnik spisany w smutku” – kategoria han w autobiograficznej narracji damy Hong Hye-gyŏng
Hanjungnok – han in lady Hong Hye-gyŏng’s literary narration

Author(s): Anna Piwowarska
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Other Language Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Hanjungnok; han; confucianism; Joseon; Hong Hye-gyeong
Summary/Abstract: The following article focuses on Hanjungnok, the memoir of lady Hong Hyegyŏng. A tool used for its interpretation is a psychological literary category of han. The memoir, created in the late 18th and early 19th century, is worth the attention given to it, especially due to its status as an exemplary Korean classic writing, as well as in connection with feminist issues. The author of the book was a witness, as well as a participant of the dramatic happenings that befell the court, which ended in the sentencing to death of her mentally ill husband and heir to the throne. In her memoir she describes not only her own experiences regarding the pivotal moments of the court tragedies, but also the events proceeding and following them. The narration of lady Hong Hye-gyŏng is the documentation of suffering and all of the ever-changing emotions connected to the category of han. It describes the search for reconciliation with one’s fate, explanation of contradictory arguments and opposing values, all in hope of achieving order and inner harmony, which proved to be difficult. Confucian injunctions forbade women – even ladies of the court, the possibility of freedom of expression. Especially in the face of the sovereign, who at the same time held the role of the ultimate judge. That is why, looking at Hanjungnok nowadays, one could treat it as a description of the breakdowns, frustrations and helplessness of a voiceless witness of the events unfurling. All of which makes the text of Hanjungnok not only a literary representation of a court tragedy, but first and foremost an in depth panorama of the inner experiences of the female author.

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