Essay #2
The Good Wife’s Guide tells a future wife to place the wants of her future husband before her own well-being. Moreover, a woman should bring loyalty, obedience, and humility to the marriage. In return, she will be rewarded with multiple benefits. Both Griselda and Chunhyang bring these traits to their respective marriages and are rewarded with society’s honor and financial security. Therefore, they fulfill medieval requirements of a good wife. Then again, a good wife can be an even better wife. For example, Griselda and Chunhyang are different wives; their differences can be assessed by considering everything they bring and do not bring into their marriages. Griselda states that she does not bring anything else into her marriage other than “faith, loyalty, reverence, and poverty” (114). In contrast, her husband Walter believes she also brings “her true love for him” (112). The disparity in their beliefs is significant, especially because Chunhyang is portrayed as truly bringing love into her marriage with Mongryong. Furthermore, Kwon-Taek Im’s Chunhyang and Le Ménagier de Paris’ Story of Griselda show examples of good wives. However, Griselda is portrayed and interpreted as a functional wife in the short story while Chunhyang as an emotional one in the film. Therefore, the film is more successful in conveying a plausible idea of a good wife.
Regardless of the times when these tales originated or when their adaptations were made, Chunhyang and Griselda are considered good spouses because of their loyalty. Griselda’s loyalty can be seen through the motif of multiple situations when Walter does a cruel act to his wife and her responses to those acts. When Walter announces that he will take away their son and daughter, Griselda instantly says that she honors and respects his decisions regardless of what they are “without changing color or showing any trace of sadness” (110). Therefore, she appears too loyal considering the cruelty of his actions. More importantly, she indicates that “nothing in the world, neither family, nor friends, nor [her] own life can compare with [his] love” (112) indicating that she values his love highly. In this instance, it is important what she does not say: that nothing in the world can compare with her own love for him. Furthermore, when Walter asks Griselda to leave him because he will remarry, Griselda instantly accepts his decision and proclaims her happiness with the “position in which [she had] lived” (114). Once again, it is important that she does not say that she is happy with the life she led with Walter. Instead, she says that she is happy with her former position. Therefore, Griselda is portrayed as a professional wife who is superbly fulfilling a function. Compared with Griselda’s unvarying loyalty, Chunhyang’s loyalty changes. It is most evident through the motif of her wedding dress, specifically when Mongryong signs it and when she shows it to him as he departs for Seoul. In the first instance, her loyalty to him is feeble as she is hesitant to accept him as her husband and is not enthusiastic about fulfilling his wants. In the second instance, she raises her wedding dress and confirms that “[their] love will never change like the sun and the moon” (Im).
While the storylines of Chunhyang and The Story of Griselda are similar, the film conveys the romantic component of marriage better than the short story. Both marriages are arranged quickly by the husbands, while the wives have little choice in their decision to enter them. Moreover, Griselda’s marriage to Walter is a series of his cruel tests and her perfect and patient endurance of his torments. Love is represented only by Walter’s interpretation of the obedience of Griselda to his tests. Furthermore, Griselda’s purpose is to serve as an example of a good wife. On the contrary, Chunhyang and Mongryong are depicted as joyful young lovers after “their shyness disappears and they grow fondly intimate” (Im). The film uses poetry, music, and visual art to create a romantic atmosphere in the interactions between the couple. Chunhyang is often portrayed as a fairy, swinging in beautiful surroundings, to show her potential as a fair bride. Therefore, Im is successful in his endeavor to convey Chunhyang as a veritable wife. Furthermore, the movie shows her serene facial expressions and charming laughter in the background. The two characteristics not only convey her affection for Mongryong but also portray her as a cheerful wife who enjoys her marriage. Im’s use of a pansori furthers the dramatization of their marriage and her love, especially when she refuses to submit herself to the new governor as she writes “One in Soul” (Im). Hence, her love is intense. Moreover, Im uses every body movement, gaze, and sound to portray Chunhyang as a wife filled with love for her husband.
The film is remarkably dramatic and dynamic so it differs from the short story that appears static and repetitive. The two mediums and genres portray Chunhyang and Griselda as two different good wives so that the former is interpreted as captivating while the latter is repulsive. The ambiguity in The Story of Griselda makes Griselda’s loyalty questionable since she might know that Walter is testing her and then she acts accordingly to please him. Therefore, she would be loyal to any other marquis since her statements about obedience and love for Walter are vague. The narration in the short story also does not add to Griselda’s qualities as an ideal wife. Moreover, the narration is merely used to further the representation of her following the guidelines of how to be a good wife. Rather than using narration to add to the message of the work, the film uses the narration and soundtrack of the pansori to describe the change of Chunhyang from a hesitant potential bride to a compassionate spouse for Mongryong. Additionally, the zoom shots of the young husband and wife show the desire of both for a romantic encounter. Chunhyang’s transition to a wonderful spouse is perceived as natural. Henceforth, she is a good wife because she is steadfast and loyal to her husband. On the contrary, Griselda is perceived as a steadfast woman who is loyal to the idea of being a good wife. Consequently, the film is more successful than the short story in conveying an idea of a good wife. It portrays Chunhyang as an evolving character in different stages, so the audience can view her as a veritable persona.
The stories of both Griselda and Chunhyang come from folklore. By assumption, their characters are expected to uphold traditional virtues of wives and values in a marriage. Nevertheless, they appear significantly different in The Story of Griselda and Chunhyang. For example, Griselda is portrayed as the one who checks all the boxes of a good wife. On the other hand, Chunhyang seems to go above and beyond. Moreover, future husbands who will face the challenge of choosing a wife will encounter both women. The former represents the safe spouse who will actively work to preserve the marriage and her own role in it. In contrast, the latter wife is a gamble. Fortunately, she will also bring dramatized love into the marriage. However, her candor could either improve or conclude the marriage. Furthermore, the film and the short story show that uncertainty in marriage makes love possible since it fosters spontaneity. More importantly, the two works indicate that future husbands cannot have the best of both Griselda and Chunhyang in a wife. On the contrary, they must make a difficult choice.
Word Count: 1251
Works Cited
Chunhyang. Dir. Kwon-taek Im. Perf. Hyo-jeong Lee. Seung-woo Cho, Sung-nyu Kim and
Hak-young Kim. Lot 47 Films, 2000. Film.
Le Ménagier de Paris. The Good Wife's Guide: A Medieval Household Book. Trans. Gina L.
Greco and Christine M. Rose. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2009. Print.