Lady Sougyon - Character and Narrator

[Cristina Chifane]

There are many memorable female characters in the novel. In traditional Korean society, women's voices were usually silenced. However, the author gives a voice to Lady Sougyon, who recounts the story of her unhappy marriage in the first person. Despite being a member of the upper echelon of society and enjoying many privileges, she is still miserable and lonely. Her life always depends on men (powerful father, unfaithful husband, spoiled son). What's your opinion of her as both a character and a narrator? As a character, could she have done anything to change her fate? As a narrator, is she honest and reliable?

[cd20]

I imagine divorce was really not very common during that time, especially in her position, but maybe she would have been much happier if she could have divorced her no-good husband and found someone else. Or at least have been free from him and the money he demanded from her. She is obviously a strong character for all that she goes through, and she shows tremendous strength. I think it is interesting to hear her voice and how the men around her has influenced her life, for better and worse. As far as we know, she seems to be honest and reliable, but she also may have a bias toward her son, sometimes we have blinders on with those we love the most.

[Brenda Creech]

There are many memorable female characters in the novel. In traditional Korean society, women's voices were usually silenced. However, the author gives a voice to Lady Sougyon, who recounts the story of her unhappy marriage in the first person. Despite being a member of the upper echelon of society and enjoying many privileges, she is still miserable and lonely. Her life always depends on men (powerful father, unfaithful husband, spoiled son). What's your opinion of her as both a character and a narrator? As a character, could she have done anything to change her fate? As a narrator, is she honest and reliable?

I feel like she is a strong woman, however, she was suppressed by the men in her life, and by the time and society in which she lived. I found it interesting for her to have a voice to express her inner and outer turmoil. Being of royal descent during those times made it impossible for her to change her fate, in my opinion.

[Maddie Atkinson]

I like that, as you said, she is the narrator of the book. We get to see her perspective that would otherwise have been silenced. Being able to see her point of view means you can see whether she truly had the option to change her fate. I don't think many narrators are truly reliable as they are giving their account only, so everything is from their point of view, but that doesn't mean that they are not honest, but rather recounting the events that they themselves saw, which isn't necessarily reliable or the right account. I hope that makes sense?

[Phelicia Gloria]

Lady Sougyon was a strong woman, however her strength was never seen because the male dominated the society giving her hard time to show her capability. I think as a narrator she had the opportunity to change the society. That's my view.

[angelanikkicea]

I wish she would just divorce her husband. I think she was strongly considering it, but her brother dismissed that thought because it would be shameful for their family during that time. But I do think she is a caring and a strong woman especially to her son and also to her staff.

[Fozia RYK]

Divorce is a better solution to get rid from a greedy husband who was the money and personal affairs from his wife. The wife who cannot afford the the unreal demands of husband, should leave him lonely and should live in loneliness for herself because it is better diffusion than to live with a greedy person.

[Mvictoria]

I found Lady Sougyon to be a rather likable character. I really liked that she goes out of her way to help her maid's daughter. This, for me, was one of her many redeeming qualities. She also forgives the thief for stealing a bag of rice and spares him a whipping. It seemed like this was a story of people who were dealing with nearly impossible situations. Mr. Seoh is stuck deciding if he should join the revolution, Lady Sougyon is stuck in a loveless, terrible marriage, etc. I believe all these characters had some redeeming qualities but were also very honest characters with definite flaws.

[ReaderAisha2020]

It was interesting to see things through the perspective of this upper-class woman, whose husband seemed to have left her without a divorce. While reading I wondered why only this Lady was given a voice to speak in the first person. Was it also because her son had an important role?

[lavkathleen]

I guess... she was pretty content on where she stood. It wasn't all good, obviously, but... she had wealth. She had a father who had a progressive mindset like her. They were a powerful family with close relations to the king. And then she had a child... on which her sight naturally zeroed in on. I think she's okay just the way she was.

[Bridgetbruso99]

I thought her character to be quiet charming and aristocratic. She would have been stronger if not bound to the social obligations that women didn't really have a lot of power. I believe if she had to defy that power, in her position, she would have been shunned from the family and it would have left her in a very tough spot. In her particular position it would have been more beneficial for her to just submit, so that is what she did.

[Sou Hi]

I imagine divorce was really not very common during that time, especially in her position, but maybe she would have been much happier if she could have divorced her no-good husband and found someone else. Or at least have been free from him and the money he demanded from her. She is obviously a strong character for all that she goes through, and she shows tremendous strength. I think it is interesting to hear her voice and how the men around her has influenced her life, for better and worse. As far as we know, she seems to be honest and reliable, but she also may have a bias toward her son, sometimes we have blinders on with those we love the most.

Lady Sougyon tried to divorce her husband many times already, but her male guardians (father and brother) didn't approve of that. The reason was that her divorce would badly affect the reputation of the family, including herself. So Lady Sougyon was trapped in her arranged marriage with no way out. As long as the man was still her husband, she had no choice but to submit to him, or else that man would bring more shame to her. Unlike our modern days, women during that era suffered greatly and had no voices (or even names, in the case of servants like April and her daughter, May). Lady Sougyon placed her hope on her son because Embon was the only one who could take care of her when she grew old. When a husband is useless, a woman can only rely on their son, that's why. Nevertheless, this showed how strong she was when she had to manage a whole house without a man.

[Books Rule]

I thought Lady Sougyon could probably have done more to improve her fate and that of others around her. I'm sure there were Korean women who accomplished much more. Certainly, she places her hopes for the future in her son, Embon, and his generation. While she thinks of herself as honest and reliable, she is clearly a product of her privilege. I think that comes across well in her narration.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

There are many memorable female characters in the novel. In traditional Korean society, women's voices were usually silenced. However, the author gives a voice to Lady Sougyon, who recounts the story of her unhappy marriage in the first person. Despite being a member of the upper echelon of society and enjoying many privileges, she is still miserable and lonely. Her life always depends on men (powerful father, unfaithful husband, spoiled son). What's your opinion of her as both a character and a narrator? As a character, could she have done anything to change her fate? As a narrator, is she honest and reliable?

I love her as a character. No first-person narrator is reliable. They tell the story from their point of view and through their outlook on life. But I think she is a strong woman. She raises her kid on her own and in a non-traditional way (even if, in my opinion, she made many mistakes in his education). She was smart in her conversation and compassionate with her servants. Of course, some of these things, the mere fact of having servants, crash with our worldview, but I think considering her circumstances she is a good woman who did what she could considering her circumstances. She is also an excellent example that neither power nor wealth can buy happiness because, as you mention, she craves true love.

[cd20]

I imagine divorce was really not very common during that time, especially in her position, but maybe she would have been much happier if she could have divorced her no-good husband and found someone else. Or at least have been free from him and the money he demanded from her. She is obviously a strong character for all that she goes through, and she shows tremendous strength. I think it is interesting to hear her voice and how the men around her has influenced her life, for better and worse. As far as we know, she seems to be honest and reliable, but she also may have a bias toward her son, sometimes we have blinders on with those we love the most.

Lady Sougyon tried to divorce her husband many times already, but her male guardians (father and brother) didn't approve of that. The reason was that her divorce would badly affect the reputation of the family, including herself. So Lady Sougyon was trapped in her arranged marriage with no way out. As long as the man was still her husband, she had no choice but to submit to him, or else that man would bring more shame to her. Unlike our modern days, women during that era suffered greatly and had no voices (or even names, in the case of servants like April and her daughter, May). Lady Sougyon placed her hope on her son because Embon was the only one who could take care of her when she grew old. When a husband is useless, a woman can only rely on their son, that's why. Nevertheless, this showed how strong she was when she had to manage a whole house without a man.

I realize she tried to divorce her husband several times, that is why I said "if she could have." She would have been happier if it had been allowed. Thankfully we don't need our fathers or brothers say today, in whether we can divorce someone or not. If you look at it Biblically, she had just cause to divorce him, yet the family refused. I don't see how the stigma could have been worse for divorce than for her husband to run around on her and everyone know it.
Lady Sougyon showed her strength in many ways, like I mentioned in my original post, not just because she managed a house without a man. She did have help from the men in her life, her father and then her brother. Otherwise her husband would have sucked her completely dry.