earticle

영어

In this study, among Higuchi Ichiyo's works, “Akatsukizukuyo”, “Yamiyo” and “Nigorie”, which are works of the "Itohu-kohi" series, in common, the purpose of this study was to define the role of a man who brings out the feelings of "Itohu-kohi" of the main character.
“Akatsukizukuyo” is the first published work in the ‘Itohu-kohi’ series, in which a man infiltrates a mysterious woman’s territory and takes on the role of an explorer, a reporter, and a spokesperson for the reader’s curiosity to find out her secret. Not only that, but the setting in which she enters the woman's territory out of simple curiosity, but eventually becomes a prisoner of love, is unique. It is active and interesting in that it plays the role of a reporter, but it can be seen that the role is limited in that it is not directly involved in the life of the protagonist.
Naoziro, a male in “Yamiyo”, not only plays the role of a reporter, but also plays the role of an actor who elicits emotions from the protagonist and assimilates into the protagonist and leads those emotions. In “Akatsukizukuyo”, there was no personal story even though she was a character, while in “Yamiyo,” Naoziro’s personal story appeared, giving the possibility that she had no choice but to assimilate with the main character, Oran. In addition, When the main character Oran's emotions overflow and murder instigation, he proceeds. This is Naoziro's way of expressing his love.
“Nigorie” is a work that expresses reality more realistically than “Akatsukizukuyo” and “Yamiyo”. Whereas until now, the main character was a young girl from a fallen family, the life of the lower class is the subject here. In particular, the male Tomonosuke who appears is a scene where the two of them have a conversation in a limited place called the “2nd floor 6 tatami” room. There are no direct episodes about Tomonosuke, but he constantly asks the protagonist Oriki about his identity. Sometimes he becomes a drinking buddy, and sometimes he accepts complaints, helping the reader to find out what Oriki's complicated feelings are step by step. In particular, Chapter 6 of the work is where the dialogue scene that brings out the emotions of the protagonist rises to the climax, and it develops into a role that not only draws out Oriki's emotions, but also encourages the protagonist to act independently. He is more active and subjective than the male in the previous two works. As can be seen here, the roles of “Akatsukizukuyo”, “Yamiyo” and “Nigorie” are the same in that they bring out the emotions of “Itohu-kohi”, but the role of a reporter is to express the emotions of the protagonist through actions. It developed as a substitute helper, and went one step further by sympathizing with the protagonist's feelings and taking on the role of an adviser for the action. In terms of the function of the role, the passive one becomes horizontal, and furthermore, the active role to be involved in the life of the protagonist is being performed in various ways.
In Ichiyo's works, most of the studies focused on the female protagonist, and studies on men appearing in the works are rare.