Literary Analysis Week 3 : The Song of Sorrow

The Plot Thickens 

The faithful woman has been respected throughout history. A woman who marries for life is envied. A woman who is always by her mans side is seen as his support. Let us imagine a situation. If a man wants a woman's number at a party and she tells him no, he persists. If she was to tell the pursuer she has a boyfriend or a husband, the man would apologize and move on to the next. Is it the woman being respected in this case? Or is her title tied to a man what saves her? This was my thought as I read The Song of Ch'un-Hyang. The theme of power and the rage that ensues from the rejection of pleasure is what seals the bloody fate of Ch'un-Hyang. 

                                                                    The Power Trip

Though she is not killed and does in fact live happily ever after, in the passage provided we do not witness this. The plot of her torture for rejecting a man of power is the very theme of the tale itself. The Governor is shown to be a very proud and determined man. He gets what he wants or he will take it. Unlike the party scenario above, the man does not respect the fact that Ch'un-Hyang has a husband, he does not see another man as equal, let alone a woman. So he demands to bend her to his will with force. A weaker woman, or a woman in a loveless situation may have given in, but Ch'un-Hyang did not. She was abused brutally, while professing her innocents. She was brave in the face of pain that cound have brought death. And she would not forsake her value. Her belief that" ... virtue is the same for high ranks and low." (82), showed that the Governor had non despite being of high rank. He was breaking the laws of the land to please himself based on nothing more than his pride and arrogance. 

                                                                  History Remembers 

Historically speaking, the Governor doesn't really fit the role of how officials where depicted at the time. You typically see historic public officials as above reproach. They are usually very honor bound and in this situation we see the opposite. However, this could be the author showing history through clear, rather than rose colored lenses. We know that stereotypes run our images of other countries. This text challenges what we know. We think soldiers follow orders without question (81). We think that Concubines are competitive and don't care for anyone (87). And we think that our leaders will uphold the laws and apply the laws to themselves "If the rape of a married woman is not a crime, what is?" (83). This tale challenges what we think we know about the way the worlds governing and social systems worked. And how absolute power corrupts absolutely.