Week 7: Thoughts on Hansu and Isak

    Starting with Hansu, I was immediately apprehensive about him. I reminded myself that this takes place a long time before these kinds of age gaps would be considered socially reprehensible, but it didn’t help me think of Hansu positively. I was hoping that the gaze Hansu had for Sunja in the beginning was a misdirect from a gaze of attraction like one of the women there noticed, but that didn’t turn out to be the case later on. Before that reveal however, I actually admired and rooted for Hansu when he protected Sunja from those kids, and held out hope that he had a different motive. I somewhat understood why they met in private since people would assume misleading ideas about them at the time, but I was immediately uncomfortable when he wanted her to call him his big brother, coming off as way too sudden considering they had just met. Hansu generally seemed manipulative and off putting, and I had completely disliked him once they actually started a relationship, moreso when he admitted to having a whole other family that didn’t know about any of this.

    Isak is a very easy character to root for, being kind hearted and altruistic almost to a fault. While some scenes of him asking Sunja about God can come off as forcing his religion, I understand that considering his beliefs and his background as a pastor, he truly did want the best for Sunja and was mostly fine with her different beliefs. It was also admirable of him to marry Sunja as that would give her a better life considering Sunja’s pregnancy in the society they were in. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was them getting intimate towards the end of the chapter, especially since she was already pregnant so there was no practical reasoning then like there was for the marriage. I say this because Isak is 25 years old and Sunja is 16– and while I know this was considered fine at the time, it nevertheless comes off as weird. I do appreciate that Isak doesn’t seem manipulative at all, and is honest throughout the relationship however.

Comments

  1. Noah English 11H BlogFebruary 27, 2023 at 12:03 PM

    I also hoped the entire time that Hansu did care for Sunja in good-faith. He initially came off as a savior and knight in shining armour, but as his character developed we understood that behind his charm was manipulation and selfishness. Deep-down, Hansu was only willing to go so far in his relationship with Sunja—and he likely knew that barrier before he met her. Nonetheless, he was willing to lead her to believe he would be someone he's not—just to get what he wanted from her.

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