The Memoirs portray Crown Prince Sado's descent into violent madness until his execution by order of his father, King Yeongjo.
Although Lady Hyegyong's descriptions of her husband's madness and execution are the best known parts of her work, each of the four pieces concentrates on a different aspect of her life and has a different political purpose.
For a woman of her time, Lady Hyegyong was well-educated, and the family of her birth, the Pungsan Hong, were scholars and public servants.
[3] She acknowledged this in her fourth memoir, recording that she was "deeply indebted to [King Yeongjo]" and that "her devotion to [Crown Prince Sado] reaches as high as the Heavens".
JaHyun Kim Haboush was able to identify an inaccuracy in Lady Hyegyong's description of her younger brother's date of birth.
[11] In the aftermath of Sado's execution, Lady Hyegyong stated, "Like me, [my father's] only thought and concern was to protect the Grand Heir, and so, for the sake of the nation, he controlled his sorrow and did not retire from office".
[12] As JaHyun Kim Haboush clarified: "... there is a category [of memorials sent to the throne] reserved for those who felt aggrieved about something concerning themselves or persons close to them such as family members or mentors.
[16] Much of the Memoir of 1801 was an exposition of Madam Jeong's court machinations against the Pungsan Hong family which, the author alleged, turned the King against them and accounted for the executions.
[17] At the height of Madam Jeong's power, according to Lady Hyegyong, her rival had enough influence over Jeongjo to prevent him from becoming intimate with his wife.
[18] Furthermore, it was claimed that as Madam Jeong's son became more powerful at court and closer to Jeongjo, an alleged decline in Pungsan Hong influence led others to compose memorials attacking them.
Addressed to her grandson King Sunjo, the memoir was used to introduce Jeongo's unfulfilled plan to restore honor both to Sado and the Pungsan Hong family.
[15] Allegedly Jeongjo intended his own son upon taking the throne to give full honors to both Sado and Lady Hyegyong.
[20] Although Lady Hyegyong chose the form of a biography, it was used as a channel for exploring Jeongjo's character as a filial son dedicated to restoring his family's honor rather than for his depiction as a political figure.
[22] Lady Hyegyong claimed that because Jeongjo realized her own father's innocence and regretted his earlier actions, this proved his intelligence.
[23] Lady Hyegyong also mentioned court rumors suggesting that it was her father's idea to have Sado executed in the rice chest.
However, following a memorial sent to King Yeongjo by Jeongjo, sections of the Records of the Royal Secretariat detailing Sado's actions and execution were destroyed.
[24] With their erasure, conspiracy theories had surfaced regarding whether or not Crown Prince Sado actually committed crimes worthy of death as well as speculating who had thought up so gruesome a manner of execution.
[29] Lady Hyegyong attributes Sado's madness and violence to his failed relationship with his father, King Yeongjo, as opposed having an innately evil nature.
[30] Lady Hyegyong ascribed Sado's eventual madness to the fact that immediately after birth he was kept from his parents to live instead in the Chosung Pavilion, traditional home of crown princes.
She noted that the servants attending to Crown Prince Sado also served Gyeongjong, the previous King whom Yeongjo was accused of poisoning.
[35] The Pavilion was the previous residence of a consort of Yeongjo's father, Lady Chang, who was believed to have killed Queen Inhyon using black magic.
Lady Hyegyong described the first time Sado became violent as having taken place after he was criticized by his father in front of a large crowd.
[41] While she said he was not violent to her, Lady Hyegyong noted he would beat any women who resisted his sexual overtures and that he "tore their flesh" until they gave in.
[41] Despite the intensity of Sado's violence, Lady Hyegyong only reported one incident in which he harmed her- by throwing a go board at her head, damaging her eye.
As a crown princess, Lady Hyegyong's duties included replacing those injured and killed by Sado as well as compensating for the aftermath of his violence.
[47] Lady Hyegyong claimed that if servants "made the slightest error" in helping him, "people were hurt, even killed".
[47] Even his favorite consort, a woman named Bingae who gave birth to several of his children, was beaten to death after Sado became irritated with her while he was trying to get dressed.
In contrast to Lady Hyegyong's narratives, royal figures were traditionally portrayed as exalted, moral personages in order to legitimize their reigns.