1990년대는 한국 사회에서 여성문화가 본격적으로 전개되었던 시기다. 베를린 장벽붕괴와 소연방 해체 등 동구몰락에 따른 냉전 구도의 와해, 뒤이은 민주화와 경제적 풍요 속에서 그동안 배제되었던 다양한 입장들이 목소리를 내기 시작했다. 이런 다원적 흐름 속에서 여성주의도 본격적으로 제 목소리를 내기 시작했고, 전통적 입장과 다른 시각에서 성과 젠더를 바라보는 입장들이 대두되었다.
연극계에서도 이런 변화가 나타나는데, 이 논문은 그중 가장 일관성 있게 여성에 대한 작품을 발표했던 엄인희의 극작술을 연구하였다. 이 글이 선택한 작품은 공연되었던 당대에 비교적 반향을 불러일으켰던 <그 여자의 소설(1995)>과 <생과부 위자료 청구소송(1997)>이다. 두 편 다 여성의 몸과 성 그리고 젠더를 논쟁적으로 고찰하고 있으며, 이 논문은 그러한 관점에서 엄인희의 극작술을 조명하였다.
<그 여자의 소설>은 식민지 시대에서 출발하여 전통적 젠더의 지배를 받는 윗대 여성의 삶을 연대기 형식으로 다룬 작품이다. 반면 <생과부 위자료 청구소송>은 성과 욕망에 능동적인 1990년대 동시대 여성을 재판극의 구조 속에서 원색적 논쟁과 코미디의 형식으로 교직하였다. 과거와 동시대를 다룬 두 편을 함께 연구함으로써, 여성과 젠더를 역사적 흐름과 연결 지어 통시적으로 조망하고, 가부장적 젠더 또 고정된 성의 통념에서 벗어나려는 작가 엄인희의 노력을 극작술의 관점에서 포착할 수 있었다.
In the 1990s, women’s culture started to develop in full swing in Korean society. With the collapse of Soviet Union followed by the end of the Cold War, democratization, and material affluence, diverse opinions that had been disregarded up to that time started to articulate themselves. In doing so, stances that view sex and gender from different angles began to emerge. These changes were seen in the theater as well. This paper is about the art of playwriting of Um In-Hee, one of the Korean playwrights who had most consistently written plays on women in the 1990s. The paper focuses particularly on That Woman’s Novel (1995) and Bedroom and Courtroom (1997) that had been sensational those days. From the viewpoint of art of playwriting, the paper sheds light on how women’s body, sex and gender were perceived based on these works. That Woman’s Novel explores the lives of women of older generation that were governed by the traditional gender in chronological order, starting from the colonial period. Bedroom and Courtroom is a combination of explicit disputes and comedy, which portrays women of the 1990s as more active toward sex and desire, through the structure of trial play. By examining the work on the past and the work on contemporary society together, the paper provides a diachronic study of women and sex by linking them with historical flow. It also analyzes Um In-Hee’s various strategies to break from patriarchal gender and sex from the viewpoint of playwriting.
In the 1990s, women’s culture started to develop in full swing in Korean society. With the collapse of Soviet Union followed by the end of the Cold War, democratization, and material affluence, diverse opinions that had been disregarded up to that time started to articulate themselves. In doing so, stances that view sex and gender from different angles began to emerge. These changes were seen in the theater as well. This paper is about the art of playwriting of Um In-Hee, one of the Korean playwrights who had most consistently written plays on women in the 1990s. The paper focuses particularly on That Woman’s Novel (1995) and Bedroom and Courtroom (1997) that had been sensational those days. From the viewpoint of art of playwriting, the paper sheds light on how women’s body, sex and gender were perceived based on these works. That Woman’s Novel explores the lives of women of older generation that were governed by the traditional gender in chronological order, starting from the colonial period. Bedroom and Courtroom is a combination of explicit disputes and comedy, which portrays women of the 1990s as more active toward sex and desire, through the structure of trial play. By examining the work on the past and the work on contemporary society together, the paper provides a diachronic study of women and sex by linking them with historical flow. It also analyzes Um In-Hee’s various strategies to break from patriarchal gender and sex from the viewpoint of playwriting.
