韓·中·日 고전문학 속에 보이는 여성과 색채色彩 ―백색白色을 중심으로―

This paper attempted to inspect the color 'white' which symbolizes female narratives in East Asian classical literature. This color in literature transcended its traditional role of merely depicting an image as white and added artistic depth and aesthetic value to it. First, white, generally known as a color for beauty and purity, was used to conceal women's desires. Also, it symbolized their despair and death under the influence of dominant religions such as Confucianism and Buddhism. However, several images of white objects - the bright moon found in nature lighting up the night, the falling snow covering the terrain, a pure and elegant flower, and a transparent jade- conjured up an idea of 'white' as a color for aesthetic pleasure. Lastly, white was presented as a color connecting women with heaven and became a color guiding people to salvation. While the immaculateness women had to attain within patriarchal and feudal societies was an undue constraint for women, they rather adopted the color white as their color of identity and filled the pages of their lives with it instead.