Abstract

This paper aims to analyze and give meaning to the characteristics of melodrama as a form of representation of moral life in capitalist society in Jang Deok-jo’s novel 『Raging Waves』, which variation corresponds to the social reality of the late 1950s. In that the character composition of good and evil, the narrative centered on dramatic situations, and the suspense of crime and conspiracy are realized, 『Raging Waves』 follows the melodramatic representation style, but it is differentiated from typical melodrama in that it appears to be a narrative of suffering for the heros(male subjects). It follows the patriarch ethical structure in the melodrama in that it demonizes women with desire, but it is differentiated in that these women are not punished. Men’s gaze represents the visual power that stigmatizes women while looking at women. In 『Raging Waves』, the sensational conspiracy and violence of Chu-ryun invert the structurally given visual power and serve as an opportunity to criticize the superior voice of the empire that benefits. The melodramatic devices such as ethical polarization and sensational suspense in 『Raging Waves』 are linked to the anxiety surrounding the aid economy of the present age and the prospect of a desirable ethics beyond that. The ending in which Park Chang-ryeol’s aid is given as a price for self-reliance, not love, corresponds to the demands of intellectuals at the present age who tried to lay the foundation for economic self-reliance (reconstruction) through Western (imperial) aid in the late 1950s. The narrative of the partron romance between Han Eun-joo and Park Chang-ryeol, Park Chang-ryeol’s death, and independence through property inheritance draws a fantasy prospect of self-sufficiency, self-support, and reconstruction of the bankrupt Korean economy.