Abstract

This paper studied that the modern women’s various neurosis embodied in “Fruit”(1937), “Flower Patterns of the Century”(1938), “Sad Solution”(1938~39), three novels published in a representative women’s general magazine Women(1936 ~1940) in the 1930s, took place in process of the modern women’s awakening of their corporalities, desire to satisfy this, the existing solid social frame of the traditional /feudal society, and mutual confrontation and antagonism of desires to peacefully settle for this frame. These novels capture exactly awareness/thoughts of sex, love and marriage of the modern women in the mid- and late 1930s and various aspects of ‘neurosis’ happening in the gap of their real life. These neurosis seem to occur from distinct characteristics of space and time on which they were, rather than occurring from the limitation of the modern women. That is, their neurosis might start from opposition and hybridism between feudalism established firmly in space and time of the Joseon Dynasty, the mid- and late 1930s, and newly risen modernity. Therefore, in that duplicity and disruptive aspects they showed fundamentally were prosecuted by desires to transform the old custom of the traditional society, those may be the scale to show the strength of the social suppression given to the modern women distinguished from the traditional women and something to prove innovation (modernity) of the modern women. “Fruit”(1937), “Flower Patterns of the Century”(1938) and “Sad Solution”(1938~39) of the professional male writers are the representative novels that these special characteristics of the modern women were clearly embodied. “Fruit” is a novel describing that a divided attitude toward sex taken place from internalization of the modern women’s virile eyes and loss of identity paradoxically began from women’s awakening of sexual desire and a strong craving to satisfy this. “Flower Patterns of the Century” is a novel portraying that asceticism/intellectualism of the unmarried women are substitutes of women’s sexual desire hard to be satisfied in the male- centric feudal society. And “Sad Solution” is a work depicting that a modern woman’s transformation into ‘femme fatale’ results from the delay of sexual satisfaction. Like this, in that the modern women’s twofold situation represented in the above novels and the aspects of various neurosis coming from this took place from the fact that the modern women of the mid- and late 1930s could not secure their identity in the realms of sex, love and marriage, it may show the modern historic limitation they had. However, from the aspect that their various neurosis were caused by their longing for free sex, love and marriage and conflict/collision of social structure oppressing this, it may express the modern women’s innovation(modernity). In other words, neurosis of the modern women in the mid- and late 1930s may be the salient indicator showing the modern historic significance and limitation at the same time.