The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyng - Essay Example

The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng Lady Hyegyŏng’s marriage and the illustration of the relationship of her filial duties to her natal and marital familiesThe Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng, an autobiographical writing by the crown princess of eighteenth century Korea, deals with the filial aspects in the life of the princess towards both her family and to the family of her husband. The book, divided into the four memoirs of the queen, which began at her age of 60, runs through the incidents that happened in the life of the princess from her early age to the present status as grandmother of the crown.

In way the book tells the life of the Lady Hyegyŏng, the protagonist, in her natal family, P’ungsan Hong family and her marriage to the crown Prince of Korea, Sado. The first memoire of the book encompasses the life of her and which pictures her duties to both her natal family and to the royal family Choson Korea (1392- 1910) in detail.Her marriage to Sado, the crown prince made her filial to her martial family, but at the same time she showed her dutiful nature to her natal family. Her decision to commit suicide, in order to follow her deceased husband, is barred from her father’s instructions to look after her son who became vulnerable by the death of his father.

The life of the Lady Hyegyŏng’s duty towards her marital family can be seen by her servile nature to her husband, Sado, who was executed by the King Yongjo, his father. This incident marks as the beginning of her tragedies. Later, the princess Queen Chongsun’s reign made much harm to the social and political position of her family. She wanted to recover the lost position of her family and so when her son, Chongjo ascended into throne she tried her level best to regain the position of her family; but the suspicion of disloyalty caused the death of Hong Inhan, Hong Ponghan’s younger brother.

Later the problems could be solved by the involvement of Lady Hyegyŏng. Still the family did not overcome from the tragedies and so in 1801, Hong Nagim, younger brother of Lady Hyegyŏng was executed by the regent, Queen dowager. The reign of the grandson of Lady Hyegyŏng, Sunjo showed the end of hardships of her family, as the king was compassionate towards his grandmother. The writers, Hyegyonggung Hong Ssi and JaHyun Kim Haboush say that the Lady Hyegyŏng‘s filial duty towards her natal family had been shown in her wishes to be judged fairly and therefore in the first memoire she justifies her family and herself (Hong & Haboush 5).

Lady Hyegyŏng’s first memoire, addressed to the heir of her natal family, is rather a part of the cross section of both families in her life. The Choson family and Hong family had to be sustained through her. It was her filial duty towards her marital family that she did not commit suicide but lived for them. She believed that her marriage with Sado had made some negative effect on her family and so she was always seen to protect her natal family. She objected all criticisms charged against her and her family in the book and moreover she wished to re-establish the moral legitimacy of the family so that the younger generations can retrieve the honourable family tradition of the Hong family (Hong & Haboush 13).

The book, The Memoire of Lady Hyegyŏng profoundly depicted the role played by the protagonist and writer, working as a mediator between her family and her marital family. She had to stand for both families, but the book projects her strenuous efforts to regain the lost position of her natal family in Korea. Her filial duties to her marital family are associated with death of her husband, Sado and the incidents that followed thereafter until her grandson, Sunjo ascended into throne. Thus it can be stated that the marriage of Lady Hyegyŏng in the book works as an inter junction of her duties to both her marital family and natal family.

Work citedHong Ssi Hyegyŏnggung, Haboush JaHyun Kim. The memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng: the autobiographical writings of a Crown Princess of eighteenth-century Korea. Illustrated edn. University of California Press, 1996. Print.