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KMID : 0379220160360030785
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Journal of Korea Gerontological Society
2016 Volume.36 No. 3 p.785 ~ p.808
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The Meaning of Death and Caregiving in Old Age: Reading from the Novels of Kyung-ran Jo
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Park Sun-Ae
Kim Cheong-Seok
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Abstract
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This study portraits the way of self-preparation for death among the elderly and examines the meaning and values attached to the elderly-care by their family and friends through the analysis of Kyung-ran Jo’s novels. First, the author describes the difficulties and inner conflict of women who provide care for the elderly, especially those facing death in the near future. She also describes how the acceptance of death and self-discovery among the caregivers can be developed from the experience of long term care. These are consistent with the arguments by Ecofemnist on positive sides of providing caregiving in an aging society. In her novels, caregiving from young women is not described as the consequences of internalized gender norms of traditional Confucian culture. Rather, it is depicted as attitude toward a life in a commune where the meaning of life and death of elderly is shared between generations. In addition, struggles of the elderly figures against diseases and the process of their death provide an opportunity for young caregivers to overcome the trauma of other’s death witnessed in their childhood. They lead the young caregivers to reflect themselves by raising ontologistic questions on life and death. The author shows the communication between generations presenting the self-preparation of death from the old generation undergoing irreversible aging and caregiving activities of significant others from the young generation. In doing so, the author points out the ethical grounds for diseases and death in old age given the condition of personalization of death in the modern society.
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KEYWORD
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Death in old age , Caregiving , Ecofemnism , Preparation for death , Self-reflection
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