Abstract

In Korean traditional narratives, one can find a narrative pattern where a woman, rejected by a man, becomes a vengeful spirit and inflicts harm upon the male counterpart. In this paper, the focus is on three representative narratives: 〈첫날밤 소박맞은 신부〉(The Bride Who Was Beaten on the First Night), 〈조월천과 상사뱀〉(Jo Wolcheon and Sangsa Snake), and 〈신립장군과 원귀〉(General Shin Rip and the Vengeful Ghost). By examining these narratives, the paper investigates the structure of revenge narratives consisting of causal and retaliatory events. It also explores how the existential and relational attributes of the female protagonist change within each sequence. The revenge narratives of female spirits can be understood as an attempt to address problems that arise due to the existential attribute of “woman” as a fixed and essential characteristic. Through the concept of narrative identity, the paper argues that these narratives transform the very essence of this existential attribute into a vengeful spirit, thereby forming a new relational attribute and attempting to resolve the issue through the process of forming new relationships. The revenge narratives of female spirits highlight that revenge actions could only be attempted after taking on the form of spirits, and the acts of repayment were aimed at neutralizing the social status of the male counterpart, emphasizing the sexual political significance.