완산 이씨 집안 여성들은 신임옥사라는 정치적 파란 속에서 가문의 몰락과 남편, 아들 등 가족의 죽음으로 삶의 기반을 잃게 되며, 그들도 자살을 통해 결백을 증명해야만 하거나 ‘열녀 되기’를 요구하는 분위기에 직면하게 되었다. 이들은 종손을 보호하는 의무만이 생존의 명분이 되었기 때문에 자결하지 않은 여성들은 종손의 존재를 통해 살아있는 이유를 설명해야만 했고, 종손의 보호를 위해 살아남더라도 장례와 봉양, 가사와 집안의 생계, 그리고 가문의 명맥 유지와 재건에 이르기까지 모든 책임을 지면서 고달픔을 내색조차 할 수 없었다. 그러나 여성들은 이러한 역경 속에서도 정치적 사건에 민감하게 반응하며 주어진 책임을 다했으며, 상언이라는 대외적 글쓰기를 통해 문제 해결을 시도하기도 했다.김씨 부인은 두 차례의 상언에서 먼저 논쟁적 진술보다는 참혹한 상황과 애절한 감정 등을 강조하여 임금의 감수성을 자극하거나 인정에 호소하는 방식을 더욱 선호한다. 또 사안에 따라 논리적인 구성과 방어적 서술을 활용하지만 그 내용에서 사적 체험의 영역을 벗어나지 않으며, 영역 밖의 문제를 거론할 때에도 완화된 표현을 사용하여 여성이 바깥 영역의 문제를 다루었을 때 일어날 수 있는 부정적 인식과 부작용을 미연에 방지하고 있다. 특히 정치적 책임을 묻는 사안에 대해 모든 죄를 여성인 자신에게 돌려 처벌을 최소화하기 위해 노력했다. 이러한 김씨 부인의 행적과 상언은 남성의 정치성과는 차별화된 측면에서 설득과 해결을 모색하는 양반 여성의 유연한, 광의의 정치성을 보여주고 있다.

A Woman’s Political Characteristic and Writing Considered Through Mrs. Kim’s appeal Seo, Gyeong-hee The women of the Wansan Lees went through a political event called “Shinimoksa” and lost their foundation because of the family’s ruin and deaths of family members such as a husband and a son. Moreover, they faced the atmosphere where they had to prove their innocence by killing themselves or be faithful women. The only reason why they live or exist was to protect the eldest grandson of the main family (the son who succeeds to the family’s blood), so the women who had not killed themselves had to explain reasons for them to live through the existence of the eldest grandson of the main family. Even though they survived to protect him, they could not even show their agony while they had to take all responsibilities for keeping and rebuilding their family. In this adversity, however, they reacted sensitively to political events and fulfilled their responsibility and tried to solve problems by writing public appeals. The woman having a family name, Kim, prefers, in two appeals, inciting a King’s sensitivity and appealing to heart by stressing a cruel situation and a sad emotion to explaining controversially. She uses logical structures and defensive statements depending on the matter but is not against the range of her private experiences. When she writes about subjects beyond her experiences she uses eased expressions, which prevents negative recognition and side effects that would arise if a woman dealt with problems of the outside range. She, especially, tries to minimize penalties by attributing all the political offenses to herself. The woman’s acts and appeals show a flexible and, in a large sense, a political characteristic of a women of noble class who tries to find a solution and persuasion, which is different from that of man.

A Woman’s Political Characteristic and Writing Considered Through Mrs. Kim’s appeal Seo, Gyeong-hee The women of the Wansan Lees went through a political event called “Shinimoksa” and lost their foundation because of the family’s ruin and deaths of family members such as a husband and a son. Moreover, they faced the atmosphere where they had to prove their innocence by killing themselves or be faithful women. The only reason why they live or exist was to protect the eldest grandson of the main family (the son who succeeds to the family’s blood), so the women who had not killed themselves had to explain reasons for them to live through the existence of the eldest grandson of the main family. Even though they survived to protect him, they could not even show their agony while they had to take all responsibilities for keeping and rebuilding their family. In this adversity, however, they reacted sensitively to political events and fulfilled their responsibility and tried to solve problems by writing public appeals. The woman having a family name, Kim, prefers, in two appeals, inciting a King’s sensitivity and appealing to heart by stressing a cruel situation and a sad emotion to explaining controversially. She uses logical structures and defensive statements depending on the matter but is not against the range of her private experiences. When she writes about subjects beyond her experiences she uses eased expressions, which prevents negative recognition and side effects that would arise if a woman dealt with problems of the outside range. She, especially, tries to minimize penalties by attributing all the political offenses to herself. The woman’s acts and appeals show a flexible and, in a large sense, a political characteristic of a women of noble class who tries to find a solution and persuasion, which is different from that of man.

Shinimoksa[신임옥사], an appeal, a characteristic of a woman, writing, one’s family