The evaluations on the Korean novels in 1990s have different voices. The voice from one side gave a favorable comment to the works restoring the territory for the individuals having been isolated for the past. The opposite side criticised literature for rupturing the chains of communications between individuals and the society. Shin Gyung-Sook, one of the recognized novelists, representing the 1990s also has received different evaluations. , one of her finest works, evoked different criticisms from both sides. However, they agreed on the way to understand desire in the novel. They regarded that desire can cause conflict with others so that it should be oppressed to be solved. They also understood that the narrator’s desire ends toward a runaway match with her lover. The premise that ‘the woman’ desire goes to ‘the narrator’s father is responsible for their understanding the structure of the desires in the novel. This study disputed the premise on the desire understood by the previous studies. This paper showed that desire can be understood as a starting point to establish the self-identity and the premise of the previous studies should be corrected. ‘The woman’ desire doesn’t stay only within the inner layer of an individual, but is connected to the desire for recognition. So is the narrator’s desire. They grow to be an ethical subject by reflecting their desire. Therefore, is the itinerary to recognize the reality of her desire through the other’s desire and establish herself as an ethical subject. The conclusion that reflecting desire can lead to becoming an ethical subject gives us another approach to see desire in literature.