Pachinko & Gender

I think that gender has played a major role in the novel, Pachinko, thus far. I say this because of the insights we see into male and female relationships, considering the majority of the novel has been told by a woman's perspective. It is also important to note that the author, Min Jin Lee, is a woman. The first time I feel like I picked up on gender commentary was when Hansu and Sunja's relationship was evolving and unfolding. The extreme age gap between Hansu and Sunja emphasized the time period to me, since this age gap would be frowned upon in modern times. This relationship played into traditional male/female power dynamics when Hansu was given free-rein of his life, able to leave his wife and children back at home to pursue other opportunities and women. Meanwhile, Sunja was expected to satisfy his desires for sexual and romantic pleasure. After learning Sunja was pregnant, Hansu attempted to control her and keep her for himself by offering money, a home, and support from himself. Sunja declined, yet continued her path directly into the arms of another man - Isak.

In our previous readings, Yoseb was banning Kyunghee from working. In the novel, Kyunghee tells Sunja how Yoseb simply wanted a wife who didn't work and would be ready with a hot dinner when he returned home everyday. He would stop her from pursuing her passions and supporting the family solely to ensure their family followed traditional gender norms. However, Kyunghee justifies these constraints and controlling behavior with the justification that Yoseb financially supports her.

All of this considered, I think that Lee's commentary about gender makes remarks on the constraints women faced, but also the reasonings they told themselves to justify staying in controlling relationships. The reality is that women were controlled by men, and Pachinko is displaying this through the experiences of women in the 20th century.