이 글에서는 1920~30년대에 주부들이 부여받은 역할과 권한의 변천과정에 대해 살펴보았다. 처음에는 교육받은 여성들이 결혼하여 꾸린 가정 내에서 모든 주도권을 가진 어떤 이상적, 관념적 존재를 ‘주부’라고 상정하였었다. 그러다가 1920년대에 들어서는 주부가 일상어로 자리 잡으면서 ‘주인의 아내’, ‘여자주인’을 뜻하는 말로 범용(汎用)되었지만 여전히 교육받은 여성을 지향하고 있었다. 그런데 1920년대 중반 사회주의 여성해방운동 담론이 등장하면서 여성교육의 목표가 현모양처, 주부 만들기에 있는 것에 대한 비판이 대두되었다. 그러나 1930년대부터는 다시 여성교육의 목표가 주부의 양성이었다. 그리고 1930년대 후반부터는 ‘주부’를 ‘며느리’와 등치시키는 담론이 자주 등장하면서, 주부의 의미에 내포되어 있었던 가정 내 독점적 주도권이 흐려진다. 주부에게 가정 내에서 요구된 역할은 가사노동과 장보기였다. 효율적인 가사노동의 기술이 늘어나면서 가정은 합리화, 과학화되었지만, 주부들의 가사노동 부담은 점점 커졌다. 그러나 주부가 가정 내 경제권과 소비의 자율권을 갖게 되면서 주부는 새로운 권리와 사회적 역할을 부여받게 되었다. 주부들은 소비와 연대를 통해 가정경제뿐 아니라 조선의 실물경제에도 영향력을 행사할 수 있는 존재들이 되었다.
This paper looked at the roles, responsibilities and authority of housewives from 1920s to 1930s in relation to women’s education, domestic labor and economic rights. At first, educated women were called them housewives when they had all the initiative in the family after they got married. In the 1920s, housewives became everyday words and were commonly used to mean “owner’s wife” and “woman’s owner.” But housewives still meant educated women. In the mid-1920s, however, feminists in the socialist women’s liberation movement criticized women’s education to create a good wife and a housewife. However, from the 1930s, the goal of women’s education again became to foster housewives. And even after graduating from school, women had to receive a more advanced education for housewives. Since the late 1930s, ‘housewife’ has become the same meaning as ‘daughter-in-law.’ Now the owners of the family were not newly married housewives but mother-in-law. This is because the younger generation could not make independent families even if they were married. The most important task for educated housewives was efficient housework. However, the rationalization of domestic labor was in fact urging housewives to work alone. The housewife had to do all the housework she had with the householders and family members by herself now. Housewives were demoted from the position of “manager” to the position of “worker.” Nevertheless, there was hopeful prospect of a housewife’s role. It was because housewives had roles as consumers. The new duty entrusted to the housewife was to shop. Housewives now know how to save and plan for consumption of planning. And they learned how to purchase goods reasonably and economically through consumer unions. This was the greatest authority given to a housewife. Housewives have become influential not only in the domestic economy but also in the real economy of Joseon through consumption and solidarity.
1. 서론
2. 주부 외연의 확장과 여성교육 지향의 변화
3. 주부의 역할론과 가사노동의 책임
4. 소비주체로서의 주부와 주부 연대체의 등장
5. 결론