本稿는 『淑香傳』에 나타난 通過儀禮的 構造를 파악하고, 神話와의 脈絡을 살펴보는 것을 목적으로 한다. 『淑香傳』은 숙향의 苦難을 통한 新婦資格의 획득과 이선의 探索旅行을 통한 社會化라는 通過儀禮的 構造로 이루어진 작품이다.『숙향전』의 通過儀禮的 과정은 ‘女性受難과 男性의 入社’라는 대립항으로 도식화할 수 있다. ‘女性受難과 男性의 入社’는 「檀君神話」, 「朱蒙神話」에서 淵源을 찾을 수 있다.이러한 神話的 構造와 世界觀은 17세기 사회의 女性의 삶에 부여된 抑壓과 欲望에 대한 反作用에 의해 변용되고, 敍事巫歌 「바리공주」의 탐색 여행담이 착종된다. 『淑香傳』은 신화의 구조를 계승하면서 17세기라는 당대적 상황에 맞게 변용된 것이고, 그 과정에서 享有層의 기대지평에 맞추어 敍事巫歌의 이야기가 錯綜된 작품이다.

This thesis aims at understanding the structure of The Story of Sook-hyang and interpreting the novel in connection with the society at that time, and furthermore looking for its significance in the context of the history of novels. The novel consists of a tale of Sook-hyang's sufferings and a tale of Lee, Sun's exploration. Her sufferings which had occurred from the separation from her family were overcome by the integration into a new family through forming a relationship with it. Lee, Sun's exploration for her included seeking his spouse and trying to save and cure poor patients. Such sufferings of hers and such exploration of his can be understood from the viewpoint of a rite of passage. While her sufferings means the process of restoring her own identity and acquiring the qualification as a spouse, his exploration means the process of renewing his self in personal and social domains. Her rite of passage is oriented at confirming her own identity and acquiring the qualification as a bride, the direction of which is limited to the area within her family. Compared to it, his rite of passage is oriented at social and public domains. Such process of a rite of passage in the novel can be simplified into the opposition of ‘female sufferings and male official rank’. The opposition can be traced back to The Myth of Dangun and the Myth of Jumong. The mythical material and structure may have become major nutrients for the development of later narrative literature. However, on the one hand, they appeared transformed by the effects from periods and situations. As a result, the novel continued to be based on the opposition and was mixed with a tale of exploration and travel in Princess Bari, which is a song by a shaman in the form of a narrative. This can be interpreted as a reaction to oppression and desire given to woman life in the society of the 17th century. That is, the novel succeeding the structure of a myth was transformed in accordance with the situation of the 17th century, and was mixed with a song by a shaman in the form of a narrative meeting the expectation of the aristocratic class in the process.