Character is one of the most important components in a novel. Novel is different from drama in that it bring out the totality of objects while drama the totality of movement. Despite the importance of characters in novel, the actual description of characters, compared with drama, is usually subsidiary and peripheral. We can find in Yeom Sang-seop`s Three Generations one of the representing examples that illustrate this characteristic of novel. Cho Deok-ki, the main character in Three Generations, is well known for his irresolute character. There is a reason why he is described as an irresolute person. It is due to his in-between position between Cho Ui-gwan who represents the old conservative generation and Kim Byeong-hwa, the new radical generation. If it tis true that a novel is intended to bring out the whole aspect of reality and the process of its transformation, it will be legitimate to say that irresolute Cho Deok-ki, who symbolizes the diverging point between the old and new generations, is a typical character in the genre of novel. In conclusion, the peculiarity of novel lies in the fact that the typical characteristics are to be presented not just in a character but also in the environment. Considering the title of the work, Three Generations, we might say that Cho Sang-hun, who is not introduced at the beginning and turns out to be a degenerated and incompetent person, plays little role in the novel. In the light ot this fact, it is problematic the fact that Part 2 of the novel, where Cho Sang-hun becomes the focus of events, is disintegrated in structure. It is a structural breakdown due to the loss of the central axis. The absence of Cho Doek-ki`s character affects the whole structure of the novel. We can also relate the protagonist Cho Doek-ki`s character to the author Yeom Sang-seop`s middle-class conservatism. The middle-class conservatism that refuses the change or reform of reality and supports maintaining the status quo contributes to stabilizing the whole structure of the work. When we read closely Three Generations in terms of the interaction among characters, we find os much conflic and trickery but no real villain. This is confirmed in the fact that Cho Doek-ki never shows any kind of affection or hatred for any other character in the novel. In the midst of conflict and fight for inheritance, all Cho Deok-ki does is to observe composedly from a distance, understanding the truth of our life. This is what stabilizes the structure of the novel and makes Three Generations to be a masterpiece of the realism.