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I thought that considering the culture and times, the main character was a strong woman

I absolutely agree. I find that this is often the case in books like this one. It's almost as if there were no women present. It really puts me off.

I thought Lady Sougyon was a strong female character and not just because she was the narrator. There were a lot of things she wanted but couldn't have because of sexism present in the society, but I think her role portrayed a strong, independent woman. With a dead beat husband, she raised her son on her own, and her son made sure to praise her parenting when he becomes an adult and meets with his father. Lady Sougyon also took after her father with her more progressive view on things and was able to talk to the king about many different topics, unlike other women. She was a progressive, intelligent woman who set aside her own emotions to give her son the best possible life.

There are many different kinds of strength. A mother raising her child alone is seen as a strength to many. Emotional strength can be as important as physical strength. Historically, women have been in the background. It might discredit the historical accuracy to have several strong women in the book.

I know the natural flow. But the coward Embon at first lines of the story turned immediately to brave one who did revolution with others. Don't you think its unnatural. The author make rough words and sentences behind the story till the end. That make us confusing to read the whole.

gabrielletiemi wrote: ↑01 Jan 2021, 05:30 In my opinion, this book could represent more women in important roles. However, I also think about the fact that this is a historical fiction novel. Therefore, the author might also be accurately portraying the lack of women in important roles in Asia by the time of the narrative. What do you think about that?

I think your idea of historical accuracy is interesting. Women certainly had a place in history, but it was not often depicted. I feel this is true especially for women in Asian. There are still cultural expectations even today. Women must fit a specific idea.
However, it fails to note that there were some important female figures, even in Asia. It would be extremely helpful to show young women now that they were not forgotten.

I thought Lady Souygon was a strong character in her own way. I think in this time it was very difficult for women to have a voice as strict adherence to rules and traditions was demanded. She was adamant about how she would bring her son up in a way that was more distanced from Korean traditions and wanted him to have a modern education to make him more worldly. I also appreciated her strength and resilience with dealing with a husband who abandoned her and her limited options for divorce.

I have often found that if an author leaves out strong female characters for the sake of "historical accuracy" that they just haven't delved far enough into their research of the time period. Many historical periods contain strong women who were very impactful, but historical records tend to overlook them due to the nature of the time period's views of women. I have not personally read much on the real-life time period and setting of this book, so this era may be one of the exceptions, but I am willing to bet that if the author had searched hard, they could have found at least a few examples. If there were genuinely no strong women to pull from history, there is something to be said about this book being historical fiction. If the author wanted representation, they could have taken some artistic liberty in the matter.

I can't blame the author, I blame the narration. I think the author did what he had to do - write the novel, but the narration took its cause and the female characters came out as they have.

This is a historical fiction therefore if the author portrayed women as strong characters or figures it would have been unrealistic.

A lot of people in this thread are talking about Lady Sougyon's strength as a caretaker and wife in a society that was prejudiced towards women. She was an incredibly determined and strong-willed character, but ultimately, the societal pressures against women held her from making a real change for herself or other women in the novel. Of course, I do think that it is very important for authors to write powerful female characters, but in this context, I would defend Bradley's decisions. The history of Korean culture (and many others) is riddled with misogyny and anti-feminist laws and socio-economic norms. Because it is historical fiction, it would have taken away from the novel if it wasn't written like that.

gabrielletiemi wrote: ↑01 Jan 2021, 05:30 In my opinion, this book could represent more women in important roles. However, I also think about the fact that this is a historical fiction novel. Therefore, the author might also be accurately portraying the lack of women in important roles in Asia by the time of the narrative. What do you think about that?

You're absolutely right—at least that's what I think too. If this were a story set in our mordern context, then a dearth of women in leading roles would have been a lot more obvious. But in this context, it would actually be largely unreal, especially since the author was trying to realistically depict the era the story was set in. Women have thankfully grown in leadership and cornerstone roles over the decades, but this wasn't the case historically.

I do also fill, though, that even if this was a story in a mordern setting, it is still the author's prerogative to include women in strong roles or not. After all, it is fiction and every element of the story is original to his own creative ability, so I have no problems with it either way.

I think the book would have been better off with more women characters. Only Lady Sougyon is portrayed as a fascinating character. The rest of the book generalizes the role of women as supporting their husbands while they fought against the Japanese aggression.

I felt that this story does shine light on women who are not leaders. Mrs. Seoh for example, was treated poorly by her father-in-law and her husband could not even defend her. She was also criticized for only having female children as if it were her fault. Lady Sougyon did not have a backbone . She let everyone else take care of her and expected her son to take a job to continue her financial gains. During that time, women were limited to certain roles in society. I am forever thankful we do not live in that type of world today.

Nobody is really disputing the fact that Lady Sougan was a strong female character. Yes, there were other females mentioned throughout, but in 1912 a woman's most important role was wife and mother. Only a very few worldwide were able to break free from the meekness and silenced nature. It was a man's world for the most part especially in Korea and other Asian countries. While I do love when historical fiction bends a little and make the women seem strong and outspoken, it is what makes them fiction. Lady Sougyon was the exception not the rule back then. To answer the original question though, I do think the author stayed true to the time period.