Master-Servant Relationship

Use this forum to discuss the January 2021 Book of the month, "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley
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Re: Master-Servant Relationship

Post by Francis Aderogbin »

I think portraying the views of the servants would have gone a long way in showing how servants feel when maltreated and treated kindly. This in turn might teach people how to relate with servants. Although it is not a guarantee that harsh masters will change, we can't erase the possibility of changing a master's disposition to their emotions as well.
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Post by prakritisingh »

The book displays a rigid master-servant relationship. The book clearly highlights the social difference of rich and poor. The poor work for the rich to provide for their families. In Korea, it is not considered bad to ill-treat their servants. The servants have to go through a lot without complaining. They need to suffer all of this just to get income and shelter for their family. The positions of the master and servant is so far in the society that even if the master wants to participate in their servant's problems or grief that cannot do so because of their social standard.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

cristinaro wrote: 01 Jan 2021, 06:08 The depiction of the master-servant relationship is one of the best aspects of the novel. For example, Lady Sougyon talks to her maid even if she realizes that she will get no answer because the maid is afraid "of making the wrong reply." (loc.28) Embon, Lady Sougyon's son, throws a tantrum and kicks an old palanquin carrier without the latter reacting in any way. Can you think of other examples? Do you consider the author did a great job of portraying the master-servant relationship? Would the description have been more impactful if the writer had included the servants' perspective too?
Yes! I agree with this completely. The author was quite masterful in describing their relationship. The servants had no choice but to bow down and take whatever as they were to be seen and not to be heard no matter what. It was a moving display of the inhuman way they were treated during those times.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

Dee_Robert wrote: 02 Jan 2021, 05:22 It would definitely be more relatable with certain audiences. Just adding that perspective alone would open a whole new audience to the book and general message in the book. He portrayed the domineering and sometimes relatively understanding nature of the master in this kind of relationship. Maybe the author would have done a better job for the servant though,. but overall the author did a great job.
He added a whole new experience to the dynamic of the book. The masters regarded he servants as less than humans and not worthy of notice. One could assault a servant without any backlash because in their eyes a servant was less than a man.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

cd20 wrote: 02 Jan 2021, 19:14 I think having the servants thoughts and opinions would have definitely enhanced the story. It would have added more dimensions and possibly some humor, especially in the case with Embon kicking the servant! Although, seeing Embon's perspective in this case too, instead of Mr. Seoh's would have been enlightening too.
It would certainly have been quite the experience the view the story from the perspective of the servants as I am very curious about their thoughts and emotions. I wonder if they themselves thought about rebelling against their masters and being free.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

The author did a very nice job of portraying the master-servant relationship. It was very enlightening to me because I was not aware that the Koreans kept servants or interacted with their servants in this manner. It gave a new insight behind the shiny veneer of class and culture displayed by the Koreans. I have to commend the author for this.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

sssns wrote: 14 Jan 2021, 09:11
In the kitchen, the maid was preparing abundant food with her ears tuned to the delivery room. If it were a boy, her preparation of a feast would be commended; if not, she would be chided for the waste. She loved to bet and had wagered on a boy. If she won, she would buy herself a dress. Mr. Seoh had forbidden betting or gambling in his household for anyone on any occasion, but she must have some fun. Besides, the dress she’d seen at the market the previous week had really captured her mind and soul. She had started saving money by shaving off a little bit each month from her wage, the rest of which she had sent to her mother in her farm village.
Location 894. Pages 75-76

I think the Seoh household has an interesting master-servant relationship. The maid from this scene is preparing food not only because it is her duty. The feast is a wager. It shows how attached and involved she is to the affairs of the family. It also gives the perspective of a servant to an important family event.

On a side note, it makes me wonder if the master-servant relationship differs depending on the social status. Lady Sougyon is royalty while the Seoh’s are not.
Yes, I feel that the relationship displayed in this case varies depending on the household the servants are in. In Lady Sougyon's house, the servants were more disciplined, colder so to speak whereas in the Seoh's house the servants were freer and had more life to them.
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Post by Josephe-Anne »

Judging from the text, it seemed as though the staff at Lady Sougyon's house were treated well (apart from Embon's bratty phase). They were paid, while servants at other households were not. Also, Lady Sougyon showed compassion on them when others in her position inflicted harsh punishments on their workers.

I would have been interested to see the servants' points of view though.
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Post by kdstrack »

It would have added another element of history to the story. Many of the people who worked as servants would have come from the poorer sectors of the society. For job security, they would have been willing to bite their tongue about how they were treated. It would have added to the contrast between these two levels of society. (I don't know how much of this practice "vanished" with the Japanese occupation.)
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Post by Caroline Anne Richmond »

The idea of the servants and slaves opinions, feelings and points of view being included in the book is a great idea. Lady Sougyon treated her slaves quite well and with respect and also tried to help them with personal difficulties, I imagine this was quite rare at the time. It would have been interesting to know how slaves felt in different types of households.
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Post by Joy Phill »

cd20 wrote: 02 Jan 2021, 19:14 I think having the servants thoughts and opinions would have definitely enhanced the story. It would have added more dimensions and possibly some humor, especially in the case with Embon kicking the servant! Although, seeing Embon's perspective in this case too, instead of Mr. Seoh's would have been enlightening too.
At this point, Embon was just a spoiled little brat. I would have preferred seeing the servants perspective, knowing fully well that Embon's mother is quite permissive.
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Post by cd20 »

Joy Phill wrote: 09 Feb 2021, 10:34
cd20 wrote: 02 Jan 2021, 19:14 I think having the servants thoughts and opinions would have definitely enhanced the story. It would have added more dimensions and possibly some humor, especially in the case with Embon kicking the servant! Although, seeing Embon's perspective in this case too, instead of Mr. Seoh's would have been enlightening too.
At this point, Embon was just a spoiled little brat. I would have preferred seeing the servants perspective, knowing fully well that Embon's mother is quite permissive.
That was my thought as well!! I think the story would have been much more interesting to have had their perspective!!
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Post by Hilda Martinovic »

I would like to know the servants perspective. Although, it made me feel that the servants were trained and raised to think that whatever the master said that's what had to be the right way to do.
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Post by scaryeyes_25 »

I think the author did not dwell on that relationship to avoid highlighting it. Giving the readers the slaves' perspective will highlight slavery and thus making it a major theme. But I also agree with most of you that knowing the slaves' perspective will give the book a different dimension and the story more substance.
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Post by zulfiyya »

I think it would have been more impactful if she added the servant's perspective. I am surprised to read this post because I completely forgot and disregarded the servants as an important element to the story, but that is probably because their perspectives were not added. It would have been nice to see how Korean traditional society affects the mindset of the servants differently than the mindset of the royal class.
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