A Dangerous Woman

One thing I noticed in Madame Freedom was the way women were portrayed as completely dependent on their husbands, and thus as not having any freedom at all since they have everything to lose. Madame Oh, for example, simultaneously loses her job, her home and her family once Mr. Han Tae su’s wife discovers their affair.  Seyon Yeong must also ask her husband’s permission in order to begin working. Alternatively, while the husbands in the film are seemingly controlled by their wives— when Mr. Han Tae su is forcefully taken away by his wife from his lunch date with Madame Oh, and when Mr. Oh deserts his mistress, Ms. Park, as soon as his wife runs away when she sees them together—in reality they have nothing to lose and receive no punishment for their adultery.

The film also makes a point of showcasing the modern woman as “a dangerous woman” who “articulates the notion of freedom implicit in Americanization as sexual liberation” (Kim, 194). Madame Choi is viewed as the iconic representation of a modern, westernized woman who seems to be carefree and who speaks freely about her opinion on how women should act in these modern times. Yun-ju tells Madame Oh that women are like withering roses, and that they must become economically independent from their husbands. This, for me, implies that Yun-ju’s version of freedom is a wife’s freedom only in relation to her husband. In addition, by “withering roses” does she mean that wives will always need to be replaced by their husbands with younger and fresher women, just as one would replace wilting flowers in a vase? If this interpretation holds any validity, then it would explain why the modern Korean woman feels the need to surround herself with “the best American cosmetics” and clothes in order to make herself seem younger and more appealing. While working at the Paris Boutique, Madame Oh encounters a customer who compares women to prostitutes, because to him they have become slaves to cosmetics which is natural prostitute behavior. Madame Oh is neither ashamed nor deeply offended by this remark, and the customer is not at all apologetic, thus implying that women who have fallen prey to western consumerist culture are seen as provocative and dangerous as they are more prone to attract the attention of potential lovers. Seyon Yeong’s own change in appearance soon after she witnesses the modern scene of the dance club makes her realize that she, too, can become sexually liberated and feel like the young, fresh woman for the men whose wives have perhaps become “withering roses”.