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Gender in Pachinko

 The female characters' intellect is more subtle and transactions: for example, bargaining at the pawnshop and market. Society does not allow women to express and pursue their education and intellect explicitly, but Lee does a good job of making it clear that—even though society disagrees—these women are incredibly intelligent and capable. Nonetheless, they are still disadvantaged by society because of their gender—Sunja gets pregnant out of wedlock and is pressured to leave her home and family in Korea in order to 1) marry someone, so she doesn't get judged, and 2) have someone to provide for her. A lot of the social pressures she faces are based on the gender expectations society has for her. She is not supposed to be/encouraged to be smart or to pursue an education, instead her social expectations are that of a mother.

In contrast, men are revered for their intellect, wealth, and power. Hansu is rich and powerful, so we see him attempt to use his influence to control those around him. He tries to use his wealth to convince Sunja that he cares about her and will provide for her, but he does not commit to her. He tries to manipulate the situation using his wealth to get what he wants, not caring how it affects Sunja. 

Comments

  1. Catalina DegnanMarch 6, 2023 at 9:55 PM

    Hi Noah! I appreciate the way you contrasted female expectations in the novel with those of the men. I felt that I focused more on women's roles in my analysis so it was cool to see some insight on the other gender! I do think that the society that Sunja lives in makes it hard for her to advance herself. I think taking on the role of provider in the household once Isak is gone is a way for Lee to highlight a way that women back then could advocate for themselves.

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  2. Gema Sanchez GamezMarch 12, 2023 at 7:01 PM

    Hi Noah, I think this topic is really interesting! While women aren't allowed to express their intelligence in super obvious ways, they were still able to find subtle ways to do so. This really made me think about alternate models of education and societal tendencies to put them on a hierarchy. I think that by highlighting the differences between male and female education at the time, Lee is trying to make readers value more traditional" or home-based education as real education.

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